The Breakdown
The Breakdown dives into the deepest topics in crypto, blockchain, and the macro forces shaping markets and power structures. Each episode breaks down complex ideas into clear, grounded analysis — separating signal from noise across crypto, finance, and geopolitics.
Hosted by David Canellis, The Breakdown features explainers, interviews, and conversations with the people building, regulating, and challenging the financial system.
A Blockworks podcast.
Subscribe to The Breakdown newsletter: https://the-breakdown.carrd.co/
826
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
827
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
828
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
829
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
830
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
831
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
832
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
833
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...
18 min
834
Inflation Drops Most In 2 Years, but Not Everyo...
Inflation came in at an annualized 5% this month, beating economists’ expectations and dropping to its lowest level in two years. That’s good, right? Well, hold your horses, say some analysts. Services inflation remains sticky, and with recent...
16 min
835
Bitcoin’s Rally to $30K Being Driven by Good Ol...
Description Bitcoin hit $30,000 for the first time since June 2022 last night. On today’s episode, NLW looks at why the evidence suggests this rally is – unlike previous crypto rallies –driven by spot buying instead of leverage trading. He also...
17 min
836
Announcing The Breakdown Network and Bitcoin Bu...
The Breakdown is expanding to become The Breakdown Network. The first spinoff show will be called Bitcoin Builders and is all about the entrepreneurial and creative energy flowing into bitcoin. Learn more about the changes and what you can...
8 min
837
Everyone Is Talking About De-Dollarization, Is ...
On today’s episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at shifting geopolitical alignments, honing in on French President Macron’s recent visit to China, China’s war games in the South China Sea and the growing de-dollarization narrative. ...
17 min
838
Traders Shifting to Tether and BTC Are Voting A...
On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads: - J.P. Koning - George Kaloudis Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple: Spotify: Google: Join the discussion: Follow on Twitter: NLW: ...
16 min
839
Are Real-World Assets (RWA) the Next Big Crypto...
On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at some followup stories from the shutdown of Signature Bank last month, as well as the emerging trend of real-world asset tokenization. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast...
15 min
840
Is Crypto Already Soft-Banned in the U.S.?
Wednesday, Foreign Affairs published an argument from American University professor Hilary Allen that the U.S. should consider a full ban on crypto. The argument gives explicit voice to a position that has been held quietly in the Biden...
16 min
841
Is the Banking Crisis Really Over?
On today’s episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at the debate raging on Twitter about whether the banking crisis is actually over. $390 billion in deposits left U.S. banks last month – the most ever in a single month – but the bleeding...
16 min
842
Interpol, Elon-DOGE and the Latest Crypto Contr...
Ah, just a casual Monday in crypto land, where an encrypted tweet from an influencer leads to billions of dollars of value wiped off the market cap. On today’s episode, NLW looks at the CZ Interpol Red Notice rumors, explanations for Elon Musk...
17 min
843
What OPEC's Surprise Oil Production Cuts Have t...
A reduction in oil output of 1.65 million barrels per day was announced by OPEC+ members on Sunday night. In the face of a global economic slowdown, analysts are debating whether the cartel is acting politically or merely anticipating softer...
16 min
844
The US Government Attack on Crypto Certainly Se...
On this edition of Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads by Kevin Reynolds Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple: Spotify: Google: Join the discussion: Follow on Twitter: NLW: Breakdown: ...
15 min
845
The USA’s Crypto Loss is Hong Kong and China’s ...
It’s no secret that the US is pushing banks away from crypto companies. What’s surprising is that Chinese state owned banks are apparently actively recruiting crypto customers in Hong Kong – seemingly in response to growing US anti-crypto...
15 min
846
Elizabeth Warren has Declared War on Crypto
“Then they fight you” but for real this time. Elizabeth Warren is running for re-election to the Senate, and she’s running on the platform of being a crypto antagonist. NLW explores the reactions from the crypto community. Enjoying this...
16 min
847
The RESTRICT Act Isn’t About Banning TikTok, It...
The movement to ban TikTok in the U.S. is growing. The recently introduced RESTRICT Act in the U.S. Congress is nominally about that, but some are concerned it would significantly expand government powers over the internet. Enjoying this...
18 min
848
The Evidence for Operation Choke Point 2.0, Wit...
On today’s episode, NLW is joined by Castle Island Ventures’ Nic Carter. Nic was the first to identify the concerted effort to deplatform crypto from the banking system as “Operation Choke Point 2.0.” In their conversation, Nic discusses the...
49 min
849
The CFTC Sues Binance, but Is It Regulatory Tur...
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Binance on Monday, alleging seven different charges related to derivatives exchange registration. In this episode, NLW explores the charges and to what extent they reflect not...
20 min
850
Are Deutsche Bank and Charles Schwab Actually i...
Ever since the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, markets have been waiting with bated breath for another shoe to drop. Coming into the weekend, it looked like Deutsche Bank and Charles Schwab were the most wobbly. NLW explores whether there is actually...
15 min