THE WHITE HOUSE
Good news regarding the Supply Chain expected later today from the White House, following word that the Child Tax Credit will be included in Biden’s renewed efforts to pass a Build Back Better plan.
DIGITAL ASSETS
Bitcoin could be estimated at a value above $100,000 by the year’s end, projects Goldman Sachs. While some nations block crypto, others imagine frameworks in which the new legal tender is integrated into society.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
North Korea has administered a short-range ballistic missile test into the Sea of Japan, sparking concern around the world. Leaders from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the US met to discuss a potential response to Russia’s continued aggression towards Ukraine.
Covid cases with no symptoms require at least five days of isolation under updated CDC guidelines. According to experts, the “best approach” for asymptomatic individuals is to take a test towards the end of their 5-day isolation period, with isolation extending for up to ten days if the results are positive.
*All this and more ahead!
Good Morning DC! It’s Wednesday, January 5, 2022, and the rescue teams in Virginia have completed freeing the last of the travelers stranded overnight on I-95 by a snow storm.
Yesterday, Biden spoke about the Omicron variant and said that America will experience “a continued rise in COVID cases and that “Omicron is very transmissible.” For those vaccinated and boosted, Biden said not to be alarmed. “If you’re unvaccinated, you have some reason to be alarmed. Many of you will experience severe illness, in many cases, if you are not vaccinated. Some will die needlessly,” said the President urging everyone to “please, please, please get vaccinated now.”
Also, yesterday, two White House Correspondents who have been at the White House within the past 48 hours tested positive for COVID.
COVID cases with no symptoms require at least five days of isolation under updated CDC guidelines. According to experts, the “best approach” for asymptomatic individuals is to take a test towards the end of their 5-day isolation period, with isolation extending for up to ten days if the results are positive.
Former President Trump announced yesterday that he was canceling his press conference at Mar-a-Lago scheduled for January 6th.
“In light of the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media, I am canceling the January 6th Press Conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, and instead will discuss many of those important topics at my rally on Saturday, January 15th, in Arizona,” Trump said in a statement. “It will be a big crowd!”
January 6th Committee is seeking information from FOX’s presenter Sean Hannity regarding his communication with president Trump and Mark Meadows in the days surrounding events on January 6, 2021.
TODAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Today at the White House, President Biden has no public events scheduled other than his President’s Daily Brief planned for 10 am. John D. Porcari, Port Envoy to the Biden-Harris Administration Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, will join the briefing room to talk about the supply chain. Good Morning DC was told that Porcari would discuss the three specific aspects of the supply chain:
- Holiday retail sales increased 8.5% year-over-year during the holiday season. Porcari will also say at the briefing that nearly 99% of packages were delivered on time to costumers or with minimal delays from USPS, UPS, and FedEx.
- The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced a new fee on long-dwelling empty containers. Porcari is hopeful that this will accelerate the removal of empty containers clogging the ports.
- Potential omicron-related disruptions at ports overseas and domestically while working with the public and private sectors to prioritize the throughput of medical supplies at the nation’s ports.
On the domestic agenda, Biden “absolutely wants to see an extension of the Child Tax Credit,” Jen Paski confirmed, adding that, in his new effort to get some version of Build Back Better done, he will include it.
On Saturday, January 8, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Las Vegas to attend the memorial service for the US Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid.
DIGITAL ASSETS
In a scenario where bitcoin adoption would increase as a ‘store of value,’ instead of gold Bitcoin may reach $100,000, predicts Goldman Sachs.
“Hypothetically, if Bitcoin’s share of the ‘store of value’ market were to rise to 50% over the next five years (with no growth in overall demand for stores of value) its price would increase to just over $100,000, for a compound annualized return of 17-18% (accounting for growth in Bitcoin supply over time),” Zach Pandl of global FX and EM strategy at Goldman Sachs said in a research note to clients.
Crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, predicts the possibility of a greater institutional adoption of crypto this year.
WonderFi, backed up by Kevin O’Leary, announced that it would acquire Bitbuy, Canada’s first approved crypto marketplace, with over $4.4B transacted. “The integration of WonderFi and Bitbuy is a huge step forward in our mission of democratizing finance through easy and secure access to DeFi and crypto,” said Ben Samaroo, CEO of WonderFi.
Kosovo banned the production of cryptocurrencies throughout the territory as an “emergency measure in energy supply,” Kosovo’s economy minister Artane Rizvanolli confirmed.
Melania Trump continues her NFT journey and will auction her white hat, created by Hervé Pierre, that she wore during Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron’s state visit to the White House. The auction will also include a watercolor by French artist Marc-Antoine Coulon and exclusive NFT digital artwork with movement by Marc-Antoine Coulon. The NFT will be minted on the Solana blockchain.
TODAY’S CRYPTO PRICES
Bitcoin (BTC):$46,377,79
Ether (ETH):$3,812.81
SOL:$169.56
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
North Korea has fired a short-range ballistic missile test into the Sea of Japan this morning. This is the first weapons test in 2022 and is already a rising concern for the international community. Fumio Kishida, the Prime Minister of Japan, condemned North Korea’s actions as “very regrettable.”
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement, “Our military is maintaining readiness posture in preparation for a possible additional launch while closely monitoring the situation in close cooperation with the United States.”
Iran nuclear talks, according to Ned Price, Spokesperson of the State Department saw, “some modest progress in the talks last week,” and the Biden diplomats are hoping “to build on that this week.”
Ned Price shared that while “sanctions, together with the nuclear steps that Iran would need to take if we were to achieve a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA,” are at the forefront of the negotiations, ultimately, “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” on these matters.
There has been a call between Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan. According to NSC, they discussed “their readiness to impose severe consequences on Russia if it engages in further aggression against Ukraine.”
Secretary Blinken will meet today at 11 pm with German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock.
And that’s a wrap for this Wednesday morning, January 5, 2022. Good Morning DC will be back tomorrow to bring you the latest first.
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