The Breakdown

A daily analysis of macroeconomics, bitcoin, geopolitics and big picture power shifts, hosted by Nathaniel Whittemore @nlw. The Breakdown is part of Blockworks.

Business
Investing
851
Complexity Theater: Why Luna Was the First Time...
This episode is sponsored by , and .   On this “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads: – Jameson Lopp – NLW  - is a security-first platform where you can buy, exchange and borrow against your crypto. The company safeguards your crypto by...
17 min
852
The UK Argues Crypto Is a New Type of Property
This episode is sponsored by , and .   On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW homes in on an interesting report out of the U.K. that would define crypto as a fundamentally new type of property – something that some crypto lawyers have...
15 min
853
Crypto's No-Fun Hack Week
This episode is sponsored by , and .   One of the biggest challenges to the mainstreaming of crypto is the propensity for novel protocols to be exploited. This week, the Nomad bridge was drained of some $200 million while another vulnerability...
16 min
854
Crypto's Institutional Narrative: Less Dead Tha...
This episode is sponsored by , and .   One would be forgiven for thinking the crypto institutional narrative is dead. Tesla sold bitcoin. Cboe took a huge write-down on the exchange it bought last year. Even Cathie Wood and ARK sold $COIN!...
18 min
855
US Senators Say BTC and ETH Are Commodities
This episode is sponsored by , and .   Another day, another bipartisan crypto bill. On today’s episode, NLW covers the latest in a string of legislation that shows that Congress and the Senate are taking their role in determining how crypto is...
16 min
856
‘Nancy Pelosi is going to Taiwan so she can buy...
This episode is sponsored by , and .   After weeks of speculation, debate and increasingly bellicose rhetoric, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has decided to go to Taiwan. In today’s episode, NLW explains discussion around...
19 min
857
Sucker’s Rally or the Worst Is Over?
This episode is sponsored by , and . In today’s episode, NLW looks at June and July as paired months that remade the market landscape. He looks at market data, key events in crypto and key events in macro to paint a picture of where things stand...
18 min
858
Crypto Credit Isn’t Dead
This episode is sponsored by , and .   On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads Nic Carter’s “.” - is a security-first platform where you can buy, exchange and borrow against your crypto. The company safeguards your crypto by...
16 min
859
The Recession Discussion Is Incredibly Dumb
This episode is sponsored by , and .   “Recession” is the latest word to run afoul of our shifting definitions and political newspeak. This week, numbers from Q2 came out showing that the U.S. had seen a declining GDP for the second quarter...
19 min
860
Volatility Ahead?
This episode is sponsored by , and . On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at four reasons markets could see heightened volatility between now and November:  Fund managers making YOLO bets to avoid redemptions Inflation surprises...
18 min
861
Why Markets Viewed the Fed's Latest 75 Basis Po...
This episode is sponsored by , and .   Yesterday was “Fed Day” and the U.S. Federal Reserve announced its second 75 basis point interest rate hike in a row. Despite the fastest pace of monetary tightening in a generation, markets rallied...
19 min
862
What's Behind Growing US-China Tensions?
This episode is sponsored by , and .   U.S. President Joe Biden is slated to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. In the background lurks growing tensions around House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan next...
20 min
863
The State of Crypto in 3 Themes
This episode is sponsored by , and .   On today’s episode, NLW looks at a slate of news from the crypto industry, organized around three big-picture themes: Regulatory – including the latest from the SEC, CFTC and Treasury Department ...
18 min
864
The SEC’s Escalating Battle Against Crypto
This episode is sponsored by , and .   On today’s episode, NLW catches listeners up on the criminal charges filed against a former Coinbase employee and two of his associates last week around insider trading. The charges come from the Justice...
19 min
865
How Bitcoin Can Support the Green Energy Transi...
This episode is sponsored by , and .   On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW looks at two discussions of the positive role Bitcoin can play in greening the grid.    He reads:  - Michael Casey   by Level39   - ...
15 min
866
What Crypto Needs to Build Next, Feat. Qiao Wang
This episode is sponsored by , and .   Qiao Wang is a creator of and core contributor to Alliance DAO, an accelerator for Web3 companies in decentralized finance (DeFi), infrastructure, distributed autonomous organizations (DAO), non-fungible...
25 min
867
Jim Bianco on Inflation, Recession and the Need...
This episode is sponsored by , and .   On today’s episode, NLW is joined by Jim Bianco, the president of Bianco Research. In this wide-ranging discussion, they talk about the bind the Federal Reserve finds itself in, the stickiness of...
44 min
868
The Future of the Bitcoin Energy Debate, Feat. ...
This episode is sponsored by , and .   Today, the Bitcoin energy debate is all about how much energy bitcoin mining consumes, and what percentage of that comes from renewable sources. Today’s guest Troy Cross argues that in the future, Bitcoin...
52 min
869
The Geopolitical Shifts Shaping the Economy, Fe...
  This episode is sponsored by , and .   NLW kicks off his “Midsummer Macro” series with a deep dive conversation with Demetri Kofinas, host of the “Hidden Forces” podcast. They discuss the Fed, inflation, the secular shift to...
49 min
870
For Russia and Ukraine Refugee Charities, Crypt...
This episode is sponsored by , and .   On today’s episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at the possible reasons for crypto’s recent rally and discusses the growing role of crypto in Russia and Ukraine related to refugee nonprofits and...
16 min
871
The Ethereum Merge Settles In as Next Crypto Na...
This episode is sponsored by , , and .   On today’s episode, NLW covers the crypto industry chatter around the Ethereum Merge. Last week, ETH devs pointed to September as a likely date for the transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake,...
17 min
872
A Primer on Balaji’s “Network State”
This episode is sponsored by , , and .   On this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads the “essay” version of Balaji Srinivasan’s new book   - is a security-first platform where you can buy, exchange and borrow against your crypto....
18 min
873
Markets Are Betting On a 100bps Rate Hike This ...
This episode is sponsored by , , and .   On this edition of the Weekly Recap, NLW looks at: The markets new expectations for a 100bps or 1% rate hike at this month’s FOMC meeting 3AC and Celsius news  Mt. Gox FUD Bank protests in China ...
16 min
874
A K-Shaped Recession?
This episode is sponsored by , , and .   Is a recession coming? Are we in a recession already? Can we be in a recession with only 3.6% unemployment? On today’s episode, NLW explores the new narrative of recession starting to take hold in...
17 min
875
Giving Up the Ghost? It’s Chapter 11 Time for C...
This episode is sponsored by , , and .   On today’s episode, NLW covers Celsius moving into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. This move has been anticipated for some time, but in advance Celsius sought to repay as many of its DeFi loans as...
15 min