Bitcoin dropped under $90,000, marking its weakest level since April. The drop came after weeks of uneven trading and followed a disclosure from MicroStrategy Incorporated, doing business as Strategy, that it purchased 8,178 Bitcoin for $835.6 million between November 10 and November 16. Bitcoin briefly touched $89,589.51 before recovering as trading swung with volatility. At 10:45 pm ET, the cryptocurrency was at $90,688.15, showing a 1.62% decline. Ethereum also slipped, slipping 0.32% to $3,019.63.
Iran seizes oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz
Iran seized an oil tanker flying the flag of the Marshall Islands in the Strait of Hormuz, according to flight-tracking data examined by The Associated Press on Friday. Iranian forces intercepted the ship, the Talara, as it was sailing from Ajman, United Arab Emirates, to Singapore, according to a US official. Three small boats were involved in the attack, according to British private security company Ambrey. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the seizure, but it coincides with Tehran’s growing threats to retaliate during a 12-day conflict with Israel in June during which the US attacked Iranian nuclear facilities.
Bitcoin drops 5% to below $95K as crypto sell-off deepens
Bitcoin dropped 5% early Friday, falling to $94,483, as a broader risk-off mood swept through global markets. The sharp decline extended losses, pushing the world’s largest cryptocurrency to lows not seen in six months. The drop reflects renewed investor caution as hopes for near-term Fed rate cuts fade and concerns over liquidity and tech valuations resurface. Minutes after hitting its intraday low, Bitcoin was down 4.59% to $95,053.54 by 7:48 am ET. Ethereum followed suit, dropping 4.36% to $3,088.78.
US announces ‘Southern Spear’ op to ‘remove narco-terrorists’
Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine and other senior military leaders reportedly briefed President Trump on Wednesday at the White House regarding military options for the region, including potential land strikes against Venezuela. It also came shortly after the news broke that the U.S. military had conducted its 20th lethal strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat on Monday. The strike killed four “narco-terrorists” in the Caribbean Sea, a Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Hill on Thursday. The U.S. military has killed at least 80 people since the counter narcotics campaign began in early September. The strikes have taken place in both the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific in what the administration argues is an effort to curb the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. By signing up, I agree to the Terms of Use, have reviewed the Privacy Policy, and to receive personalized offers and communications via email, on-site notifications, and targeted advertising using my email address from The Hill, Nexstar Media Inc., and its affiliates In late January, the U.S. military announced that the U.S. Navy’s 4th Fleet will start a new operation, named “Southern Spear,” that will “operationalize a heterogeneous mix of Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) to support the detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking while learning lessons for other theaters.” The military said in January that the operation would take place in the U.S. Southern Command (Southcom), which covers more than 30 countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean region. It’s unclear how Hegseth’s Thursday announcement compares to the news about “Southern Spear” from January. In early October, Hegseth announced that the Pentagon formed a new counternarcotics joint task force in order to “crush” drug cartels in the Caribbean Sea, while operating in the Southcom area. m“By forming a JTF around II MEF headquarters, we enhance our ability to detect, disrupt, and dismantle illicit trafficking networks faster and at greater depth – together with our U.S. and partner-nation counterparts,” Southcom Commander Adm. Alvin Holsey, who is retiring later this year, said in a statement at the time. The administration has built up a massive military presence in the Southcom area, sending warships, F-35 fighter planes, spy aircraft and other military assets as it turns up the pressure against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom they characterized as an “illegitimate leader.” The U.S. has added more firepower in the region this week with the arrival of USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, and its strike group to Southcom on Tuesday. The carrier, which has over 4,000 sailors, carries F/A-18 Super Hornets fighter planes and long-range Tomahawk missiles.
NN: Trump is not dicking around. Like Noriega of Panama Maduro is not taking seriously enough the fact he he has a great big Bullseye on his back.
Verizon said to eliminate 15K jobs in biggest cut yet
Verizon Communications Inc. plans to eliminate roughly 15,000 jobs in what would be the largest job cuts in the company’s history, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the report, the purpose of the job cuts is to cut expenses as the company faces growing competition in the wireless and home internet markets. The report stated that Verizon also intends to convert around 200 of its stores into franchise locations, moving those employees off its direct payroll. According to the securities filings cited in the report, the company had about 100,000 employees as of February. Last month, the telecommunications company appointed Dan Schulman as its new CEO, who vowed to reduce Verizon’s cost to serve and optimize its capital allocation in order to deliver “meaningful growth” in crucial financial metrics.
NN: Jobs go first then the stock market. The cracks are starting to shoe up.
IEA: Oil demand growth rebounded to 920 kb/d in Q3
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its November Oil Market Report, published on Thursday, that in the third quarter, world oil demand growth “rebounded” to 920,000 barrels per day (bpd), with “stronger deliveries in China” as the main reason behind the rise. According to the data, the increase was “more than double” compared to the second quarter’s demand growth of 420,000 bpd. IEA raised its 2025 global oil demand growth forecast from 710,000 bpd to 790,000 bpd, while the 2026 projection was boosted from 700,000 bpd to 770,000 bpd. Talking about supply, the agency shared that it sees the 2025 world oil supply at 3.1 million bpd, slightly up compared to the previous forecast of 3 million bpd, while the 2026 supply is expected to come in at 2.5 million bpd, up from 2.4 million bpd previously projected.
NN: Oil is in play. Buy the shit out of it. Contrary to spin oil demand is INCREASING. While supplies are FALLING.And the truth is coming out.
Iran Is Rebuilding Its Nuclear Program Deep Underground
US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites in June slowed down the nuclear program, likely buried Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and effectively paused enrichment activities. The attacks prompted Iran to reevaluate its nuclear strategy, and after declaring the end of international oversight of its nuclear program due to the expiry of the 2015 nuclear deal in October, Tehran — which maintains it has never and will not seek to weaponize its nuclear program — now operates with strategic opacity. Recent satellite images analyzed by experts at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) suggest that while there is little to no activity at the three sites in Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow, Iran has stepped up construction at a site buried in Pickaxe Mountain near Natanz. Iran began building the facility in 2020 after a fire broke out in the Natanz enrichment facility. It was initially said to be a centrifuge assembly site, but recent developments suggest that Tehran may be expanding its original plans for the site, according to Joseph Rodgers, a deputy director of the CSIS’s Project on Nuclear Issues.
NN: Iran is back. And they could be the trigger for WWIII
UN watchdog hasn’t been able to verify Iran’s stockpile of near-weapons grade uranium in months
VIENNA (AP) — The International Atomic Energy Agency has not been able to verify the status of Iran’s near weapons-grade uranium stockpile since Israel and the United States struck the country’s nuclear sites during the 12-day war in June, according to a confidential report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog circulated to member states and seen Wednesday by The Associated Press. The agency warned that it “lost continuity of knowledge in relation to the previously declared inventories of nuclear material in Iran” at facilities affected by the war and stressed that this issue must be “urgently addressed.” According to the IAEA’s last report in September, Iran maintains a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. That stockpile could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponize its program, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi warned in a recent interview with the AP. He added that it doesn’t mean that Iran has such a weapon. Iran long has insisted its program is peaceful, but the IAEA and Western nations say Tehran had an organized nuclear weapons program up until 2003.
IAEA seeks special report by Iran
According to the safeguards agreement that Iran has with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Iran is obliged to produce a “special report” detailing the location and status of its nuclear material, including its highly enriched uranium stockpile, following events such as attacks or earthquakes. The special report must also address the status of the facilities affected by the June war. The IAEA said Wednesday that “the provision of such a report is indispensable for the Agency to provide assurances that nuclear material subject to safeguards in Iran remains in peaceful nuclear activities and that the facilities subject to safeguards are not being misused.” The report said that Iran explained in a letter to the IAEA on Nov. 11 that “any cooperation with the Agency is conditional on the decision of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) of Iran.” The IAEA report on Wednesday also said that Iran has not granted the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors access to sites affected by the war. Tehran did, however, allow the IAEA to inspect undamaged facilities after Grossi reached an agreement with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Cairo at the beginning of September.Those facilities include the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the Tehran Research Reactor, and three other nuclear facilities in Tehran. The report also said that IAEA inspectors are traveling to Iran on Wednesday to conduct inspections at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center site. The facility, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) southeast of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It is also home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with Iran’s atomic program. During the war, Israel struck buildings at the Isfahan site, among them a uranium conversion facility. The U.S. also struck Isfahan with missiles.
Sanctions further isolate Tehran
Iran suspended all cooperation with the IAEA after the war with Israel. But later that same month, the U.N. reimposed crushing sanctions on Iran, drawing an angry response from Tehran and leading the country to halt implementation of the Cairo agreement. Iran is legally obliged to cooperate with the IAEA under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. European powers decided to reimpose the U.N. sanctions via the so-called snapback mechanism after Iran failed to enter into direct talks with the U.S., resume full cooperation with the IAEA and clarify the status of its near weapons-grade uranium stockpile. The sanctions freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran, and penalize any development of Iran’s ballistic missile program, among other measures, further squeezing the country’s reeling economy and isolating Tehran after its atomic sites were repeatedly bombed during a 12-day war with Israel.
A $25 Billion Bitcoin Bet Is Fraying as Doubt Hits Big Buyers
Bitcoin is struggling to climb out of a $330 billion hole, and the forces that once powered its ascent are in retreat. After a bruising October, the digital currency has staged only a halting recovery — climbing, dipping and stalling above $100,000. What’s missing this time is the powerful tailwind that defined much of 2025: institutional conviction. Over the past month, many of the biggest buyers — from exchange-traded fund allocators to corporate treasuries — have quietly stepped back, depriving the market of the flow-driven support that helped propel the token to records earlier this year. Their retreat hasn’t sparked an industry-wide panic. But it has upended expectations. For much of the year, institutions were the backbone of Bitcoin’s legitimacy and its price. ETFs as a cohort took in more than $25 billion, according to Bloomberg data, pushing assets as high as roughly $169 billion. Their steady allocation flows helped reframe the asset as a portfolio diversifier — a hedge against inflation, monetary debasement and political disarray. But that narrative — always tenuous — is fraying afresh, leaving the market exposed to something quieter but no less destabilizing: disengagement. Markus Thielen, chief executive officer at 10X Research and a former portfolio manager at Millennium Management LLC, sees mounting signs of fatigue. Some professional investors, he argues, are losing patience after Bitcoin’s underwhelming 10% gain this year, far behind the performance of gold or tech stocks. And if the price starts to trend downwards afresh, per Thielen, risk advisers are likely to urge institutional clients to scale back positions into the end of the year.
“At one point the risk manager may step in and say, ‘you need to eliminate or lighten your position’,” he said. “There’s a risk that Bitcoin is going to continue to underperfom because people need to rebalance their portfolios. You probably need to buy more Nvidia for when you send out your statement to investors.”
Demand Wanes for Spot Bitcoin ETFs
Outflows persist for a second week amid the coin’s falling price
That risk isn’t just hypothetical. On-chain signals suggest long-time holders have been liquidating into strength. While much of the speculative leverage was cleared out during the October 10 market wipeout, Thielen warns that if the token slides toward $93,000 – a key technical level — more holders may be forced to exit. “There’s this big gap where a lot of people are quickly underwater,” he said. “The weaker balance sheets may have to liquidate their positions.”Citigroup Inc. sees similar red flags. “My sense is new money is cautious and there is not much urgency or rush to get invested,” said Alex Saunders, head of quant macro at Citi Research. “Maybe people lost excitement.” He points to a shift in wallet behavior. Citi analysis shows so-called Bitcoin whales — wallets that possess more than 1,000 Bitcoin — are gradually declining. In contrast, the retail cohort, those that hold less than one token, has seen an uptick. Citi suggests $1 billion in weekly flows typically adds about 4% to price, meaning the current lull is capping gains.
Bitcoin Whales Shrink as Prices Fall
Smaller wallets are rising as retail participation grows
The term “whales” can refer to a wide range of holders — from early adopters who bought Bitcoin when it traded for a few dollars to institutional accounts and exchanges. Wallet movements don’t always signal outright selling; large holders often shift tokens between wallets for liquidity or custody purposes. While momentum has faded, there is little sign of panic. Bitcoin remains up sharply over the past 18 months, and speculative appetite across markets of all stripes remains robust. Analysts at crypto exchange Bitfinex caution against interpreting recent data as panic selling or a market top. Its research shows wallets holding over 10,000 Bitcoin reduced balances by 1.5% in October — hardly a fire-sale. And they said that the ETF outflows are a “temporary weakness, but not structural risk.” “The takeaway is that whales are not dumping in fear but gradually taking profits into a softer ETF demand environment — a pattern observed repeatedly in prior cycles,” Bitfinex analysts wrote. “These rebalancing periods typically reset positioning and volatility before the next leg higher, once inflows and liquidity conditions improve.”
NN: Obviously we believe Bitcoin has peeked or is very close to a all time high. We shorted took profits and are shorting again.
Oil drops 2% following OPEC report
Crude oil prices fell 2% on Wednesday after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) left its global oil demand growth forecast unchanged both for 2025 and 2026. Additionally, OPEC signaled in its latest monthly report that the global oil market was oversupplied in the third quarter as the United States surpassed output expectations. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for December’s settlements declined by 2.08% at 9:15 am ET to $59.71 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent for deliveries in January decreased by 2.04% a minute later, going for $63.84 per barrel.
IEA now says oil demand will grow until 2050.
The International Energy Agency further tempered its stance on an imminent peak in oil demand, reinstating a scenario in which global consumption keeps growing to the middle of the century. While oil demand was set to plateau or fall this decade in all three scenarios the IEA examined last year, the latest report reintroduces a “Current Policies Scenario” in which consumption rises 13% by 2050. The stronger outlook hinges on a slower pace of electric vehicle adoption. The revival of the CPS after a five-year hiatus marks the latest revaluation of oil’s long-term prospects by the agency and the wider energy industry. It also comes at a time when the White House is held by an administration that both champions fossil fuels and attacks renewable energy sources. Forecasts from the Paris-based IEA — established following the 1973 oil shock — are used globally as a benchmark by governments and energy companies for planning policy and investments. The agency’s analysis may provide sobering reading for delegates gathering in Brazil this week for the United Nations-sponsored climate talks known as COP30. The report on Wednesday is another shift in tone for the agency, which in September said that billions of dollars need to be invested in new oil and gas supplies — having previously drawn fire for saying that such investment was incompatible with climate goals. Republican lawmakers have assailed the agency and sought to cut its funding. “The main reason we have two new scenarios is the growing uncertainties in the political, economy and energy context,” Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a phone interview from the agency’s Paris headquarters. He pushed back on suggestion that the revival of the CPS was due to US pressure. The IEA’s latest outlook is consistent with a trend across the energy industry. In September, BP Plc pushed back projections that consumption could top out as early as this year. In CPS, global oil consumption climbs from roughly 100 million barrels a day to 113 million in 2050, as the share of EVs in total global car sales broadly plateaus after 2035. In STEPS, the share of EV sales is projected to double by 2030 and rise above 50% five years later. The CPS scenario poses a drag on growth in wind and solar energy, and a stronger trajectory for natural gas. Inevitably, the two paths entail different consequences for world oil markets and prices. In the CPS, “higher demand mops up any excess oil and LNG supply more quickly,” bolstering oil prices to about $90 a barrel in 2035. Meeting the demand will require roughly 25 million barrels per day of new projects, and supplies from producers currently subject to sanctions. The demand scenario for oil and gas is further proof the road to net zero by the middle of the century will be bumpier than previously anticipated, with ramifications for the environment. Global temperatures will rise to almost 3C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century in CPS, compared with 2.5C in the other pathway. Both options spell a level of climate change that scientists consider extremely destructive. The IEA’s reappraisal was welcomed by the OPEC oil producer cartel, which has repeatedly assailed the IEA and accused it of promoting an “anti-oil narrative.” The organization, which is led by Saudi Arabia, forecasts that demand for the commodity will keep expanding to 2050. Even within the IEA’s less bullish scenario, STEPS, the peak for oil demand is now seen slightly later, arriving “around 2030,” rather than before the end of this decade, as envisaged in last year’s analysis. It sees oil consumption averaging 96.9 million barrels a day in 2050, up from the previous estimate of 93.1 million barrels a day. No matter which outlook is ultimately proven right, the world must grapple with an array of risks spanning sanctions on oil, uncertainty over Russian natural gas supplies and the risk of cyber-attacks on electricity infrastructure, Birol said. “Global energy security faces an unprecedented range of threats in a way that we have never seen before,” he said.