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
Bitcoin Is the ‘No Heroes’ Asset
If you thought last week’s Elon intrigue was over, think again. This weekend saw an absolute showdown at the bitcoin corral, with Musk seriously losing his cool. In this episode, NLW explores the tussle from a number of dimensions: What it says...
18 min
1202
Bitcoin Is Much More Than a Speculative Asset
This week’s “Long Reads Sunday” is a reading of Alex Gladstein’s latest piece, “.” It follows the stories of people in three African nations who paint a very different picture from the rampant speculation you hear about in the news. ...
31 min
1203
Vitalik vs. Dog Money: Recapping a Crazy Week i...
On this edition of “The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap,” NLW discusses: Why the Elon Musk issue is really one of power and audience What the Colonial Pipeline attack reveals about our critical infrastructure  The debate around Vitalik Buterin...
12 min
1204
Why the DOJ, IRS Investigation Into Binance Cou...
Today on the Brief: More chaos from Elon Musk Hedge funds moving into DeFi? Tether reserve attestations Our main discussion looks at recent revelations of investigations by the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service around Binance....
14 min
1205
Et tu, Elon? What’s Really Behind Tesla’s Bitco...
Crypto Twitter exploded last night when Elon Musk announced Tesla was backtracking and would no longer be accepting bitcoin as payment for cars. The debate came fast and furious about whether this was genuine environmental concern and, if so, how Elon...
14 min
1206
46M Americans Now Own Bitcoin as Inflation Rise...
Today on the Brief: SEC throws cold water on bitcoin ETF dreams MoneyGram brings bitcoin for cash to 12,000 locations (for a hefty fee) Palantir considering adding bitcoin to balance sheet Our main discussion: Inflation has seen its biggest growth...
11 min
1207
Crypto to Replace Dollar as World’s Reserve Cur...
Last year, hedge fund gurus like Paul Tudor Jones set off the wave of institutional bitcoin buying by cementing the narrative of bitcoin as an inflation hedge. Today, one of those investors - Stanley Druckenmiller - is back with even more dire...
12 min
1208
If Prices Keep Going Up, We Might Have to Start...
Today on the Brief: Elon Musk saves an SNL flop with a dogecoin satellite  Growing interest in Ethereum  UBS explores offering crypto to wealthy clients Our main discussion:The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are both running headlines...
14 min
1209
CBDCs Aren't About Money, They're About Power
On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads Sune Sorenson’s “.” He also discusses recent pieces by Niall Ferguson and The Economist that point to a growing conversation about CBDCs that is fundamentally about power and the global...
13 min
1210
‘My 401(k) is now my 401(k9)': Doge, SNL and Wh...
On this edition of “The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at: Why ETH should have had most of the attention The camps forming around dogecoin and why it’s likely to dump after “Saturday Night Live” A slew of massive institutional...
13 min
1211
The Balkanization of Bitcoin: The Next Attack o...
Today on the Brief: Square puts up monster Q1 bitcoin numbers First crypto comments from new SEC Chair Gary Gensler 3 new institutional bitcoin developments  Our main discussion:  As bitcoin becomes more mainstream, the attempts from the...
18 min
1212
Are Banks Getting Nervous About Competition Fro...
Today on the Brief: MercadoLibre has added bitcoin to its balance sheet Galaxy Digital buys BitGo  Debates around the new, improved, real economy  Our main discussion: While the last year has seen a massive amount of growth in...
17 min
1213
The Biggest Bitcoin News of the Year? NYDIG CEO...
NLW is joined today by Robby Gutmann, CEO of NYDIG. NYDIG is quickly emerging as one of the leading companies helping onboard institutions to bitcoin. This year, it received from and announced partners with companies like MassMutual, New York Life,...
29 min
1214
Is Dogecoin at $0.58 a Triumph or an FU to the ...
NLW asked his Twitter followers about what the success of dogecoin meant to the crypto industry. He got an extremely diverse set of takes. Some see it as a triumph of crypto’s uncontrollability. Some see it as a triumph of the underlying bitcoin...
14 min
1215
Why Bitcoin Is Making Some Legendary Investors ...
Today on The Breakdown, NLW looks at: Charlie Munger’s and Bill Maher’s weekend comments about bitcoin and why we’re likely to see a lot more of this type of critique the more the bull market heats up The beginning of Taproot’s ‘Speedy...
14 min
1216
Wall Street’s Bitcoin Isn’t Your Bitcoin
Ben Hunt is the author of the wildly popular and always provocative “Epsilon Theory.” In his recent essay “In Praise of Bitcoin,” he calls on bitcoiners to rise up and recognize that the “bitcoin” being adopted by Wall Street is an...
24 min
1217
Welcome Back, Flippening Narrative
On this edition of “The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap,” NLW explores: Why JPM and Tesla drove the bitcoin story Why Ethereans are hot on the call for a “flippening” again Why CBDCs are low key one of the most important stories of 2021  --...
10 min
1218
Crypto's War of the Roses: The 7 Factions of th...
On today’s episode, NLW gives a comprehensive view of the battleground for attention and resources that makes up this 2021 bull market, including: Bitcoin Ethereum and DeFi Ethereum alternatives  Ponzi coins Stablecoins and CBDCs NFTs Doge ...
23 min
1219
What an Increasingly Booming Economy Means for ...
For the past year, bitcoin’s narrative has been deeply tied to the larger macro narrative of looming inflation. As the economy starts to boom, many continue to point to the spectre of inflation as a bullish force for bitcoin. In today’s episode,...
19 min
1220
Visa's CEO on Crypto: "This Is a Space We Are L...
Today on the Brief: Elon pumps Doge again Detailing Biden’s $1.8T American Families Plan  Turkey, Iran, SEC Our main discussion looks at comments this week from Visa CEO Al Kelly on the company’s relationship with crypto, analyzing the five...
14 min
1221
Tesla's Bitcoin Selling Shows How BTC Is More T...
Yesterday Bitcoin Twitter reacted in horror upon discovering that Tesla had sold 10% of its bitcoin. Elon has paper hands! Institutions will abandon us! The horror and scorn ran far and wide.  On today’s episode, NLW argues that: The sales...
16 min
1222
JPMorgan's Bitcoin Journey: From 'Worse Than Tu...
Today on the Brief: Sports and crypto come together WTF is going on in Turkey? Wyoming DAO law  Our main discussion: After years of CEO Jamie Dimon ragging on bitcoin, JPMorgan is reportedly set to offer a new actively managed bitcoin product....
12 min
1223
Bitcoin and the New Non-Governmental Monetary R...
For this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads Nik Bhatia’s latest piece: “.” He also provides more thoughts on the notion of bitcoin as a non-sovereign money and what that might mean in terms of global balances of power.  -- Earn up...
10 min
1224
2017 PTSD and the Dip That Ate Alt Season
On this edition of “The Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at the twin dips that shaped the week. He argues that one upshot is the dips may have taken the wind out of the sales of some very 2017-esque froth that threatened the entire industry.  -- Earn...
10 min
1225
What Biden's Tax Hike Has to Do With Money Prin...
Today on the Brief: Coinbase Pro to list USDT A new Bitcoin Mayor in Tennessee ETH and BTC ETF updates Our main discussion looks at President Biden’s proposed increase of the capital gains tax rate. NLW breaks down everything bitcoiners are saying...
13 min