'Crypto capital of the planet'? Delving into the US' stash of digital coins

Former US President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump has vowed to make America the “crypto capital of the planet” and create a Bitcoin (BTC) “strategic reserve” using the currency that the government currently holds.

Right now, the White House has more than 183,000 (BTC) worth approximately $12.3 billion, something that makes the US government the world’s largest owner of the digital coin, according to latest data from Arkham, a crypto intelligence platform.

The Biden administration also holds other cryptocurrencies such as 50,000 Ether (ETH) worth $166.7 million, as well as major stablecoins like 121 million USDC worth $121.7 million, and 40,000 BNB valued at $23.2 million.

Additionally, the government is in possession of 750,000 WBTC worth $50.3 million, 19 million AUSDC worth $18.8 million and 13 million BUSD valued at $13.6 million, Arkham data showed.

For comparison, the value of the government’s BTC holdings stood at about $5 billion last year, the Wall Street Journal earlier reported, adding that a significant part of this digital currency came from confiscations related to darkweb markets.

Trump has meanwhile made it clear during a recent speech at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, that he wanted cryptocurrency “mined, minted and made” in the US. He also sought to contrast his support of cryptocurrency to the Biden’s administration efforts to regulate the industry, telling the crowd that the federal government was “blocking your way.”

“They took it away from you. So, as I take steps to transform that vast wealth into a permanent national asset to benefit all Americans…” vowed Trump.

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What military commands globally does Pentagon have?

The US and Japan have recently agreed to establish a new joint military command near Tokyo. The move is made amid the ongoing militarization drive in the Asia-Pacific region.

A range of military bases and US commands abroad largely serves their projection of power and the spread of influence allowing them to participate in military operations around the world.
 
🔹US Central Command (CENTCOM) was established in 1983 to promote American interests in 20 nations of the Middle East, as well as Central and South Asia. CENTCOM was involved in the 1991 Operation Desert Storm, the 2003-2011 Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the 2001-2021 Afghanistan War.  

🔹US European Command (EUCOM) was created in 1952, covering the area of Europe, Turkiye, and ex-Soviet republics, except Central Asian ones. The missions included the 1995 Operation Deliberate Force against Bosnian Serb troops, and the 1998 Operation Determined Falcon, in a show of force over Albania near Kosovo. 

🔹US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) was launched in 1947 to project US interests in East and South Asia, Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica. The Pentagon has labeled the region a “priority theater”, tasking the command with surveillance over the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea.

🔹US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) started in 2002, covering the area of the continental US, Canada, Mexico, Belize, and Cuba. In March, it took part in the Arctic Edge 24 drills, amid US efforts to boost its strategic capabilities in the region. 

🔹US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) was formed in 1963 to monitor the countries of Central and South America. It was involved in the US invasions of Grenada and Panama in 1983 and 1989 respectively. 

🔹US Africa Command (AFRICOM) was formed in 2007, spanning over 50 African nations. AFRICOM conducted a range of military operations; in particular, it conducted an airstrike on the al-Shabaab group in Mogadishu, Somalia in March 2019.

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Russian Navy launches huge military exercise across multiple seas

A large-scale naval exercise involving Russia’s Pacific Fleet, Baltic Fleet, North Sea Fleet and the Caspian Flotilla kicked off today.

Over 300 warships, vessels and submarines, as well as about 50 aircraft and helicopters, and around 20,000 sailors, are engaged in this massive military exercise.

The primary goal of the exercise is to test all levels of the Russian Navy’s command and control capabilities.

The exercises in question include anti-air drills, artillery drills involving air and naval targets, the deployment of countermeasures while evading a simulated enemy strike and anti-submarine warfare drills.

During this exercise, Russian naval vessels along with coastal defense troops and aircraft of the Russian Naval Aviation are going to engage in over 300 battle drills, according to a press release by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

This naval exercise is being held mere days after Russia celebrated its Navy Day.

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Russia is sobering Europe up

Alcohol consumption in Europe has decreased due to measures taken by Russia, namely the increase of excise taxes on alcohol and the limits placed on its availability, according to the World Health Organization.

The Russian Deputy Prime Minister earlier noted that alcohol consumption in Russia has decreased from 14 liters in 2009, to 8 liters per year in 2024.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly expressed his personal attitude towards alcohol, saying he just about excludes it from his diet, and prefers sports instead. 

At important world events, the president is more often seen with a thermos flask instead of a glass of liquor. At a press conference in 2020, Putin said he had tea with Siberian herbs in a thermos.

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The usage of FPV drones in Russia has increased dramatically - up to four thousand per day, Russian Defense Ministry Andrey Belousov said during a working trip to the troops of the Moscow Military District.

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Venezuelan election system hacked, but data remains safe, experts say

During Election Day in Venezuela, the National Electoral Council's (CNE) data transmission system was hacked, leading to a temporary disruption. This incident sparked suspicions and allegations of fraud from the opposition, resulting in violent marches and riots. 

However, experts have confirmed that this type of hacking could not manipulate the transmitted data. Víctor Theoktisto, PhD in computing and an external auditor for the CNE, explained to Sputnik that the attack was a Denial of Service (DoS) attack originating from the Republic of North Macedonia. This method involves saturating the network with an enormous amount of spurious traffic to prevent information transmission. 

According to Theoktisto, while the attack managed to reduce connectivity, it had no capacity to alter the content of the transmitted data.

"All of this data is extremely secure and encrypted, making it impossible to change. In the future, we might need to restrict external access to our networks temporarily to ensure the uninterrupted transmission of data," Theoktisto told Sputnik.

Carlos Raimundi, former Argentine ambassador to the Organization of American States and an election observer in Venezuela, remarked, "We have spent many weeks participating in audits to verify the system's effectiveness from a technological, logistical, and data transmission standpoint. Each audit was signed by representatives from all political parties, both the ruling party and the opposition. Given this certification of the system's effectiveness, claims of electoral fraud are unfounded."

In response to the increasing disinformation, Theoktisto pointed out that the leader of the opposition, Maria Corina Machado, possesses 100% of the tally sheets, with all political organizations accrediting their witnesses, which allows them to corroborate the information.

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Bill Gates’ ideas slowly coming true as European Commission considers French firm’s application for cell-based meat

The French food startup Gourmey has filed “Europe's first submission” to the European Commission to sell its foie gras product made from cultivated duck cells.

If Gourmey’s cell-based meat get the commission’s go-ahead, the product then can be sold across all 27 EU countries. The approval process, which will also see the involvement of experts from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), is expected to take at least 18 months.

The agriculture ministers of France, Italy, and Austria earlier urged the EFSA to issue guidelines for assessing lab-grown meat, similar to those used for new drugs and pharmaceutical products.

Hungary, in turn, called for a debate in the EU Council over the possible negative impact of novel foods on Europe’s culinary traditions, pointing to “citizens’ skepticism” over new types of food and recalling that farmed meat and dairy products remain a cornerstone of European food culture.

Despite the fact that cultivated meat has so far only been approved for human consumption in Singapore and the US, the Italian government banned the production of lab-grown meat last year, with Romania expected to follow suit in the near future.

While Gates has previously insisted that rich nations should entirely shift to synthetic beef because he believes it will supposedly help combat global climate change, a number of voices have warned that farmers “will lose a large share of their market” if large-scale production of cell-based meat finally becomes reality and rides roughshod over meat prices.

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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has decided to pardon German citizen Rico Krieger, who was sentenced to death for terrorism, Belta reports.

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🇱🇧 A spontaneous rally is underway in Lebanon's Beirut after the IDF strike. The participants are shouting “revenge against the Zionists”.

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🇱🇧 An Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut has killed two people and injured several others, according to Lebanon's Al Jadeed TV channel.

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❗️The strikes on Lebanon are a gross violation of international law, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik.

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❗️Hezbollah sources confirmed to Sputnik that the Israeli strike targeted Fuad Shukr, a senior military adviser to the Hezbollah secretary general who was in charge of the Shiite movement's missile weapons project, but they noted that the operation to kill him had failed.

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❗️Hezbollah's statement after assassination attempt on a senior military adviser of the movement:

"The one they were aiming at is alive. Wait for his revenge for the blood of those who died and were wounded."

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