A daily analysis of macroeconomics, bitcoin, geopolitics and big picture power shifts, hosted by Nathaniel Whittemore @nlw. The Breakdown is part of Blockworks.
The 2nd Biggest Bank Failure In American Histor...
Just days after Silvergate announced an orderly winding down, Silicon Valley Bank has come to a very disorderly end. Today, California regulators stepped in to put the bank in FDIC receivership. NLW explains how we got here and what it might...
17 min
652
The Real Reasons Silvergate Collapsed
Beleaguered Silvergate Bank has announced that it will be winding down. NLW examines whether the turn of events is due to banking crypto companies, specific business decisions made by Silvergate or a coordinated political campaign against the...
18 min
653
Fed’s Powell Brings the Dog and Pony Show to DC...
In today's episode, NLW looks at the macro as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell discusses monetary policy this week before Senate and House of Representatives banking committees. The markets are betting on a 50 basis point rate hike at the next...
15 min
654
Fireworks in the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF Lawsuit ...
Last year, Grayscale, a CoinDesk sister company, filed suit against the Securities and Exchange Commission after its proposal to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund was rejected. Today the hearing began, and...
18 min
655
Are the WSJ Articles on Binance and Tether ‘Tri...
Today, NLW discusses recent Wall Street Journal articles about Tether using fraudulent bank accounts to access banking services and private chat threads from former Binance employees arguing that Binance and Binance.US were closely aligned....
13 min
656
Crypto’s Center of Gravity Is Shifting Away fro...
On this “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads: - Noelle Acheson - Emily Parker - “The Breakdown” is written, produced and narrated by Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by and research by Scott Hill. Jared Schwartz is our...
20 min
657
The Hole on the FTX Balance Sheet Remains Gaping
In this week's “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at the latest from the FTX bankruptcy estate and stirrings that Democrats in Congress aren't fond of SEC Chair Gary Gensler's regulatory methods. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast...
16 min
658
With Congress Impotent, Courts Are the Only Opt...
Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW discusses Silvergate, a scathing open letter from three U.S. senators to Binance and whether courts can stop an overreaching Securities and Exchange Commission. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast...
15 min
659
What the Silvergate Death Spiral Means for the ...
In today's episode, NLW discusses Silvergate Bank's painful collapse. In order to understand the industry's banking resources, he examines where the bank came from, why it became important to the industry and how it faltered. Enjoying this...
17 min
660
The Vise Tightens on SBF as Former FTX Engineer...
The latest big news, in the wake of FTX's collapse: Nishad Singh, former head of engineering, has pleaded guilty to six charges as well as a “no contest” to civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading...
14 min
661
NFT’s Biggest Company Is Coming to Bitcoin Ordi...
In today’s episode, aside from fist-shaking at SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, NLW discusses an announcement from Bored Ape Yacht Club creator, Yuga Labs, that it is creating a generative art collection for Bitcoin with Ordinal inscriptions. As part of...
16 min
662
Gary Gensler, Bitcoin and the Bad-Faith SEC
Ah, the industry was once so hopeful about Gary Gensler’s appointment to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Yet, as the years have progressed he has become the industry's most aggressive antagonist. In the wake of increasing congressional...
16 min
663
Central Bankers Triumphantly Declare Fiat to Ha...
Today on “Long Reads Sunday”: Travis Kling on Cosmo Crixter – Brendan Malone – Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple: Spotify: Google: Join the discussion: Follow on Twitter: NLW: ...
14 min
664
Bank Regulators Say ‘No Operation Choke Point 2...
Apparently all our angry howling worked. This week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, while nominally speaking about the liquidity risks of crypto banking,...
15 min
665
Class-Action Lawsuit Accusing Digital Basketbal...
On today’s episode, NLW covers the ruling of a federal judge in New York allowing a class-action lawsuit to proceed against Dapper Labs for allegedly offering unregistered securities. He also covers a new slate of charges against Sam Bankman-Fried,...
14 min
666
5 Takeaways From Coinbase's 'Base' Layer 2 Chai...
In this episode, NLW examines Coinbase's announcement of its new layer 2 chain, paying particular attention to: Exchanges moving from layer 1s to layer 2s No token Wall Street not getting it Developer competition On-chain...
17 min
667
Is Custodia a ‘Sacrificial Lamb’ to the Fed’s W...
In a recent tweet, Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell suggested U.S. regulators like it when bad actors beat good actors because it takes down the crypto industry and the bad actors can be jailed later. In this episode, NLW explores the issue in the...
16 min
668
Narrative Watch: Hong Kong Nudges Towards Legal...
Hong Kong's securities regulator published proposed rules on Monday for virtual asset trading platforms, fueling the narrative that the next bull market will start in Asia. NLW explores whether the moves are connected to broader changes in the Chinese...
17 min
669
How to Fight Back Against Rogue Regulators
Featured on this week’s “Long Reads Sunday”: “Regulating Crypto by Enforcement and Stealth Will Set the US Back” – Michael Casey “The Right Analogy for Crypto Markets” – Nic Carter “How to...
19 min
670
Why the Newly Proposed Custody Role Could Repre...
On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at the newly proposed custody rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission. While the rule has broader implications other than crypto, many in the crypto industry are concerned that Chairman...
17 min
671
Is the SEC’s Terra Lawsuit Trying to Set Preced...
In today’s episode, NLW breaks down a slew of late-breaking news, including: Terraform Labs and Do Kwon are being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission Binance US made strange transfers of $400 million between 2020 and 2021, according...
17 min
672
Why Bitcoin Rallied 11% on Wednesday
In this episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW examines the various explanations for Wednesday's 11% increase in BTC’s price, including: Market structure Global liquidity conditions Stablecoin concerns Ordinals Debt ceiling debates ...
16 min
673
Regulators Only Have Themselves to Blame for Cr...
On Tuesday, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on the “Crypto Crash.” NLW discusses the opening statements of the ranking committee member and chairman, as well as the regulatory proposals put forward by witnesses. He also discusses the...
17 min
674
Slightly Hot Inflation Print Probably Won’t Cha...
On today’s episode, NLW updates on the Paxos situation. Paxos made a statement that it is willing to fight the Securities and Exchange Commission in court over whether BUSD is a security. The main part of the episode is focused on January’s...
15 min
675
The Latest Front in the Crypto Wars Is Binance-...
Last week, rumors swirled that Paxos was the next target for regulatory action. On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported the Securities and Exchange Commission was preparing a suit accusing the company of issuing an unregistered security. Then on...