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
1001
What Billions in Crypto Fund Raises Tells Us Ab...
On this episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at an array of recent fund announcements, including: Dan Tapiero and 10T’s $750 million Pantera raising a $600 million fund  Jump Capital announcing a new $350 million fund with more focus on...
15 min
1002
Of Course Walmart Isn't Accepting Litecoin
At 9:30 a.m. ET, a press release from “Walmart Inc” dropped today claiming that the company was partnering with Litecoin to begin accepting the 2016-era crypto darling at its retail locations. The news, seemingly fishy, was nonetheless reported as...
14 min
1003
The Timeline for Central Bank Digital Currencie...
A reading of a recent speech by Benoit Cœuré, the head of the BIS Innovation Hub, on “Central bank digital currency: the future starts today.”  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  Spotify: Google:  ...
9 min
1004
Dan Tapiero: Crypto Is the First Truly Global M...
Dan Tapiero, founder of 10T, returns to “The Breakdown” to discuss: Investing $750 million into growth equity for digital asset ecosystem startups The number of crypto unicorns growing from 20 to 70 in a year  How institutional investor...
46 min
1005
Why Former US Regulators Are Moving Into Crypto
Today on the Brief: NFT volume cools down but interest remains strong Mastercard is acquiring CipherTrace European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve begin preparing for asset purchase tapers this autumn  Our main discussion is about the flow...
14 min
1006
Ukraine Legalizes Bitcoin
El Salvador made history on Tuesday, Sept. 7, when it became the first nation to make bitcoin legal tender. In this episode, NLW reviews the first day of bitcoin in El Salvador, including reports from the ground as well as the salty tears of anti-BTC...
17 min
1007
The SEC Threatens to Sue Coinbase but Coinbase ...
Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW briefly covers yesterday’s bitcoin price crash and why it was driven by market structure more than news. The main topic focuses on revelations from Coinbase that after months of engagement around its upcoming Lend...
22 min
1008
It’s Bitcoin Day in El Salvador
El Salvador’s bitcoin legal-tender law goes into effect today. NLW looks at the recent controversy surrounding the law, including: Institutional controversy – why the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank don’t like the law ...
16 min
1009
Balaji Srinivasan: “Bitcoin at $1,000,000 is a ...
This interview originally aired December 19th, 2020.  is an angel investor and entrepreneur, the former CTO of Coinbase, a former General Partner at Andressen Horowitz and more.  In this wide-ranging conversation with NLW, he discusses: ...
73 min
1010
WTF Is A “Metaverse?”
On this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads David Hoffman’s recent essay in Bankless Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  Spotify: Google:   Join the discussion:   Follow on Twitter: NLW: Breakdown: 
31 min
1011
Dungeons and Degens: Why Everyone Is Talking Ab...
On this edition of the Weekly Recap, NLW looks at Loot (for Adventurers), the newest NFT sensation. Unlike the “JPEG” or Avatar NFTs, Loot bags are sets of theoretical items for a theoretical game set in a theoretical fantasy world. Created by one...
10 min
1012
The Breakdown’s Official Bitcoin and Crypto Fal...
On this special episode of The Breakdown, NLW looks at what we learned over the summer and what the fall holds for different parts of the crypto industry and surrounding spaces, including: The macroeconomic landscape Regulatory battles Bitcoin ...
16 min
1013
A $1.5T Asset Manager Is Getting Into Bitcoin
Today on the Brief: Binance dinged by Singapore authorities while discussing Binance.us going public  Former CFTC Chair Giancarlo leaves BlockFi board of directors after only four months  SEC takes action against … Bitconnect? Enjoying...
12 min
1014
Bitcoin Payments Coming to Twitter?
On today’s episode, NLW takes a historical look at Silicon Valley’s relationship with Bitcoin. NLW explores why so many in Silicon Valley missed Bitcoin in the early days, why smart contracts made more sense to them (and fit with their funding...
15 min
1015
DAOs, NFTs and Crypto Derivatives Win Attention...
On today’s episode, NLW breaks down a slew of stories that reflect different aspects of the crypto industry: Billionaire John Paulson doesn’t like crypto FTX US acquires LedgerX Syndicate DAO raises $20 million Layer 1 battles with Ethereum and...
12 min
1016
Jack Dorsey Is Building a Decentralized Exchang...
Today on the Brief: NFTs have a monster month Centre's global network of stablecoins The Cuban government to recognize crypto Our main discussion:In July, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and payments company Square, announced that Square was...
13 min
1017
The Weaponization of the Banking System
On this edition of Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads Nic Carter’s latest for CoinDesk “.” The piece provides the history of Operation Choke Point and how the legacy of financial weaponization persists to today.  Enjoying this content?  ...
11 min
1018
The Race for Stablecoin Transparency
On this week’s Weekly Recap, NLW breaks down the recent history of stablecoins and contextualizes recent news from Tether, Circle and Paxos. Could stablecoin providers be positioning themselves to be the rails of an eventual U.S. digital...
13 min
1019
What Jerome Powell Said at Jackson Hole
The Kansas City Fed’s annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium is sort of like TED for Central Bankers. In the lead-up to this year’s event, the conversation has been totally focused on whether or not Fed Chair Jerome Powell would signal a beginning...
11 min
1020
The World Economy's 'Transitory' Supply Chain I...
First, on the Brief: Bitcoin hash power coming back online A new millionaire testing out crypto An emerging music tokenization platform Bitcoin saw a significant drop in hashrate after China’s mining bans. The network accordingly implemented its...
15 min
1021
Why the Crypto Industry Doesn't Trust the Treas...
First, on the Brief: OnlyFans’ reversal of its decision to ban sexuually explicit content Budweiser’s NFT Twitter profile picture The U.K.’s warnings to Binance Last week, OnlyFans announced it would ban sexually explicit content from its...
13 min
1022
Citi to Trade Bitcoin Futures?
On this episode of “The Breakdown”: Surveys and reports detailing expected institutional adoption Citigroup to trade on the CME Global perception of crypto, CBDCs NFT and DeFi on the rise Bitcoin news from Michael Saylor, Blockstream and Substack...
10 min
1023
Visa Buys a Punk as Bitcoin Returns to $50K
Late Sunday evening, bitcoin pushed above $50,000 for the first time in three months. Overall BTC is up 46% in the last 30 days. NLW explores arguments that this move has been spot driven and connected to institutions and whales. He also looks at the...
13 min
1024
Why Time Is the Ultimate Scarce Asset
This week, “Long Reads Sunday” returns to its Twitter roots with a reading of two threads from crypto VCs. The first comes from Andreessen Horowitz’ and the second from of Multicoin. Together, they paint a picture of the emerging landscape of...
15 min
1025
Why Is the Fed so Scared of Stablecoins?
On this edition of “The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at: News that Brian Brooks left Binance.US after a fundraise proved unsuccessful  Why Coinbase is investing $500B in crypto  The Fed’s discussion of stablecoins at last...
9 min