A daily analysis of macroeconomics, bitcoin, geopolitics and big picture power shifts, hosted by Nathaniel Whittemore @nlw. The Breakdown is part of Blockworks.
Venmo and Stripe Ramp Up on Crypto While Coinba...
In this Friday edition of the Weekly Recap, NLW looks at the key events this week, including: Biden's DAME tax Coinbase and Gemini opening offshore derivatives exchanges Court orders SEC to respond to Coinbase's lawsuit Venmo and Strip expand...
15 min
502
Regional Bank Turmoil Accelerates as Fed Raises...
First Republic failed this week. Did that mean Powell and the Fed would pause their hikes? Absolutely not. NLW covers the "Hawkish Pause" press conference and the 25 bps interest rate raise. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast:...
14 min
503
Biden's DAME Mining Tax is an Attack on Bitcoin
The White House Council of Economic Advisors yesterday announced the Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME) excise tax. The proposed 30% tax on "cryptomining" would be a soft ban on mining in the USA according to crypto industry experts. Enjoying...
16 min
504
The Suspicious Denial of Protego Trust: New Yor...
Operation Choke Point 2.0 refers to the idea that there has been coordinated action by bank regulators to try to force crypto out of the system - something which the current administration strenuously denies. New York Magazine recently found more...
15 min
505
First Republic's Failure Shows the Limits of Fe...
After an extended ordeal, beleaguered First Republic Bank has been seized and sold to JP Morgan Chase. NLW covers the build up, the specifics of the deal, and why the example of First Republic illustrates the limits of what the Fed can control. ...
16 min
506
Don't Ban Crypto! The Case for Pro-Innovation R...
On this edition of Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads by the Blockchain Association's Kristin Smith. The article is a response to the growing argument against regulation. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 ...
15 min
507
Fighting the Regulatory Rugpull
On this edition of the Weekly Recap, NLW breaks down: Gary Gensler's latest cringey SEC video Coinbase's Wells Notice response Dual legislative hearings from Thursday Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast:...
14 min
508
First Republic is a Zombie Bank
All week there has been a high-stakes game of chicken as the Fed, FHLB, FDIC, big banks who pumped $30B into First Republic and FRC itself all try to figure out if this thing can survive. Is it headed for FDIC receievership? Is this how the Biden...
16 min
509
Making the Lightning Network Noncustodial with ...
Bitcoin Builders is The Breakdown Network's new show about the Cambrian explosion of creativity and entrepreneurial energy around Bitcoin and Lightning. In this excerpt from my recent interview with Spiral's Steve Lee, Steve discusses their work on...
11 min
510
The Institutions Are Coming Back to Crypto
Deloitte has hundreds of jobs advertised around digital assets. Franklin Templeton just announced a major blockchain project with Polygon. Standard Chartered Bank is betting on $100k BTC in 2023. The institutions are back, baby. Enjoying this...
16 min
511
Binance Withdraws Voyager Offer as Coinbase Sue...
Both of today's stories are, on some level, about US crypto politics. The first part of the show focuses on Binance US's beleagured and now withdrawn bid for the Voyager Digital assets. Despite a judge overruling US government objections, it appears...
19 min
512
Raoul Pal Previews the Future: AI, Crypto, QE a...
Raoul Pal is the CEO of Real Vision. On this “Paradigm Shift” episode of The Breakdown, NLW and Raoul discuss: Raoul’s concept of “The Everything Code” and “The Exponential Age” Debt monetization The multipollar world ...
103 min
513
Where Bitcoin Fits as Argentina Faces a Dollar ...
Argentina has one of the highest inflation rates in the world, which some economists are estimating at 133% or more. The Argentine Peso also has one of the highest interest rates in the world. On this episode, NLW discusses recent turmoil at the...
19 min
514
The EU Has Now Become the Global Crypto Regulat...
On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads: - Daniel Kuhn - Dea Markova Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple: Spotify: Google: Join the discussion: Follow on Twitter: NLW: ...
14 min
515
Hasta La Vista, USA! Crypto Companies Look Abroad
This week Coinbase was on tour in the U.K. and also announced a new Bermuda license, through which it will supposedly soon announce a new derivatives offering. NLW recaps the contrast between the increasingly open arms from the rest of the world and...
14 min
516
A Landmark Moment for Crypto in Europe as MiCA ...
With the passage of MiCA, Europe has jumped out ahead of the U.S. and other jurisdictions when it comes to regulating crypto. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple: Spotify: Google: Join the discussion: ...
17 min
517
The Case for U.S. Stablecoin Regulation
Last year, the first crypto legislation was supposed to be common-sense rules for stablecoins. The two political parties couldn’t come together, however, and the legislation was scrapped. Now, the House Republicans have reintroduced a draft, and on...
19 min
518
Congress Grills Gensler on Anti-Crypto Stance
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has positioned himself as crypto’s biggest opponent in Washington, D.C. Tuesday, however, a House oversight hearing took Gensler to task for his regulation by enforcement and his inability or...
19 min
519
Coinbase Says Without Regulatory Clarity It Wil...
The U.S. regulatory crackdown on crypto seems to be having the exact impact that industry advocates feared, because some of the largest companies in the space consider relocating to more favorable regulatory regimes. This week, Coinbase CEO Brian...
16 min
520
The House Finally Introduces a Stablecoin Bill,...
It’s hard to have good faith dialogue about regulation when one group involved in the discussion doesn't think the industry being regulated should even be allowed to exist. That increasingly seems to be the problem with crypto legislation. Enjoying...
15 min
521
Glassnode's James Check on the Peak Capitulatio...
This episode is an excerpt from my recent interview with Glassnode's James Check. The full interview covers why the recent $30k run-up was spot not leverage driven, why BTC is shifting from whales to smaller holders, and why these markets are much...
9 min
522
The Latest New York Times Bitcoin Mining Hit Pi...
This week’s “Long Reads Sunday” looks at three refutations of the piece, by: - “The Breakdown” is written, produced and narrated by Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by and research by Scott Hill. Jared Schwartz is our executive...
19 min
523
Will Withdrawals Drive a New Institutional Ethe...
This week on the “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at the Shapella upgrade, including emergent narratives around institutional investment, as well as checking in on the FTX bankruptcy estate and previewing the House Financial Services Committee oversight...
15 min
524
Sergey Nazarov on Why the World Needs a New Mod...
NLW is joined by Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov for the first in “The Breakdown”'s "Paradigm Shift" interview series. Sergey discusses why society's trust model has broken down, how cryptographic truth serves as an alternative, and why this...
68 min
525
An AI Primer for Bitcoiners
On todays show, NLW gives a primer on the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence (AI) space, including introducing key concepts such as Generative AI, LLMs and more. He also looks at why bitcoiners have a particularly important vantage point in the...