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
1201
No, Bitcoin's Flash Crash Wasn't Caused by Turk...
In 20 minutes on Saturday night, bitcoin’s price fell by more than 12%. Crypto Twitter raced to explain it as the byproduct of hashrate crashes after Chinese miners went offline, a suspicious report about the U.S. Treasury Department going after...
19 min
1202
A Point-by-Point Rebuttal of the Most Recent Bi...
On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads Nic Carter’s “,” a rebuttal of the New York Times’ recent piece on bitcoin energy consumption he says is riddled with false data and debunked sources.    -- Earn up to 12% APY on...
30 min
1203
Here Are All the Institutions That Bought Bitco...
On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at three key themes: The continued institutionalization of bitcoin (and, increasingly, ethereum as well)  Warning signs of market mania in DOGE and NFT prices Global intrigue around bitcoin...
11 min
1204
Dogecoin: The Emperor of All Shitcoins and the ...
Dogecoin is on a tear. And it’s causing many mainstream media outlets to call “bubble.” On this episode, NLW breaks down DOGE as: Valueless memecoin Internet culture incarnate Dada-esque protest to a broken system  Much wow.  -- Earn...
16 min
1205
Why the Biden Administration Is Increasingly Co...
On today’s “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at an underreported story from earlier this week. There are increasingly loud whispers that officials across several agencies, including Treasury, National Security and Defense, are growing concerned with...
14 min
1206
The Definitive Guide to Coinbase Going Public
On the day of Coinbase’s historic direct listing on NASDAQ, NLW answers your most important questions about the company and its place in the industry.  How did Coinbase become successful? What is the crypto public's perception of Coinbase?...
22 min
1207
The Real Story of Inflation Right Now
There is perhaps no question more debated in macroeconomics than what sort of inflation we’re likely to see in the coming years. Many are convinced that the combination of a growing money supply, expansionary monetary policy, pent-up demand,...
15 min
1208
Coinbase Going Public Is the Bitcoin Bull Marke...
Coinbase is set to go public via direct listing on Wednesday. In today’s episode, NLW breaks down why this is the current bull market’s first big test, looking at: Mainstream narratives  Institutional liquidity  Retail...
23 min
1209
How Bitcoin Can Help Break Cycles of Poverty
This week’s edition of “Long Reads Sunday” features NLW reading Bradley Rettler’s “.” It is an argument that, far from being just a speculative tool for the already wealthy, bitcoin represents a disruptive force that can combat wealth...
11 min
1210
So, Is This a Bitcoin Supercycle or What?
On this week’s “Weekly Recap,” NLW digs into the theory of the bitcoin supercycle. Are we in the same sort of four-year, halving-driven, boom-bust cycle that has characterized bitcoin so far, or are the new institutional participants breaking us...
9 min
1211
Liberty Mutual and State Street Are the Latest ...
Today on the Brief: Crypto Climate Accord Robinhood crypto trading  The decentralization of venture capital Our main discussion: This week was absolutely chock-full of institutions getting into the bitcoin space, yet barely anyone noticed. From...
13 min
1212
Is Bitcoin a Chinese Financial Weapon? Peter Th...
Peter Thiel is nothing if not good at igniting controversy. For the last 24 hours or so, Bitcoin Twitter (and really, FinTwit and TechTwit and Politics Twitter as well) have been hotly debating his assertion in recent remarks that bitcoin had become a...
20 min
1213
$400,000 Bitcoin in 2021? The Best of Bloomberg...
Today on the Brief: Coinbase’s monster Q1 numbers 150 million evaporate from the global middle class Jamie Dimon’s shareholder letter comments on crypto Our main discussion: Bloomberg’s latest crypto outlook is out. In this episode, NLW looks...
15 min
1214
From Dinosaur Altcoins to the Kimchi Premium, 1...
On today’s episode, NLW provides a whistle stop tour of some of the most interesting and illuminating numbers from crypto and traditional markets, including: The pop in Jurassic Park altcoins Archegos fallout US vaccine distribution Outflows from...
17 min
1215
How Will the Coinbase IPO Affect Bitcoin's Price?
Today on the Brief: The 88th anniversary of Executive Order 6102 Former SEC Jay Clayton on bitcoin regulations  GBTC intends to become an ETF Our main discussion:  NLW breaks down the potential implications of the Coinbase IPO. He looks at...
16 min
1216
The Future of Bitcoin Lies with Renegades and M...
On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads CoinDesk journalist Brady Dale’s “.” NLW argues this topic is even more important in the context of bitcoin institutionalization. -- Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP,...
8 min
1217
For Bitcoin and Crypto, a Week of Mainstreaming...
On this edition of “The Breakdown” Weekly Recap, NLW looks at a set of mainstream moments including: “SNL” doing a song about NFTs Visa accepting USDC on Ethereum as a native settlement currency PayPal opening crypto checkout to 29 million...
8 min
1218
An Interview With Cathie Wood on Bitcoin, Tesla...
This episode is a replay of NLW’s conversation with Cathie Wood from October 2020. In it, they discuss:   Why she had conviction in Tesla before the market caught up  Why her fund offered the first bitcoin investment opportunities to Wall...
78 min
1219
Corruption, Leverage and Cheap Money: Archegos ...
The financial world has been rocked by the Archegos scandal. A family office managing at least $10 billion and betting with $50 billion-$80 billion on leverage that was completely undone, literally overnight.  In this episode, NLW breaks down: ...
17 min
1220
Goldman Sachs To Offer Bitcoin to Wealthy Clien...
As the old saying goes: “First they ignore you, then they mock you, then they fight you, then you win.”  Ten months ago, Goldman Sachs declared that “cryptocurrencies including bitcoin are not an asset class.” Today, CNBC broke the news...
13 min
1221
PayPal Opens Crypto Payments for Millions of Me...
Today on the Brief: BTC micro futures coming to CME Michael Jordan is now an NFT investor Bitcoin doesn’t care about Treasury yields Our main discussion: PayPal has begun rolling out its crypto checkout tools to millions of merchants. NLW breaks...
15 min
1222
Visa Just Supercharged Stablecoin Legitimacy
Today’s episode of “The Breakdown” is an extended brief with five different topics: NFTs make it to “SNL” “Green” bitcoin mining Square’s CFO thinks all companies should hold bitcoin in their treasuries Crypto M&A doubles in 2020...
14 min
1223
Can NFTs & Crypto Create Cultural Revolutions?
On this edition of “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads David Hoffman’s essay “” from Bankless. The essay argues that culture, more than economics, will be the most important long-term beneficiary of the rise of crypto.  -- Earn up to 12% APY...
29 min
1224
Soros Breaks Into Bitcoin
On this week’s Weekly Recap, NLW: Highlights the four most important happenings around regulation and central bank digital currencies in the U.S. Updates the macro inflation narrative for a “new normal” era Digs into what we’ve learned...
13 min
1225
Worried About Bitcoin's Price Action? Here's Wh...
Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW digs into bitcoin and crypto markets. He argues that despite two weeks of sideways-down price action, there are a set of reasons to be optimistic: Historically bad March months versus historically good Aprils...
12 min