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
1276
How Much Debt Can a Country Handle?
This week’s edition of Long Reads Sunday is a reading of “” by Raghuram Rajan on Project Syndicate. In it, the author explores the shifting conventional wisdom on national debt and worries that countries may reach their limit far earlier than...
11 min
1277
The Bitcoin Banking Battle Heats Up
On this edition of the weekly recap, NLW looks at the brewing battle to be the bitcoin and crypto bank of the future. He looks at three stories reporting banks getting into crypto (BBVA, Standard Chartered and DBS) as well as crypto companies applying...
10 min
1278
Why a Massive 169-Year-Old Insurance Company Ju...
Today on the Brief: FDA panel recommends Pfizer vaccine approval as initial jobless claims soar Antitrust lawsuit calls for Facebook breakup Crypto-friendly CFTC chairman to resign at the beginning of the year Our main discussion: Why MassMutual...
14 min
1279
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce on a Bitcoin ETF...
Hester Peirce is a commissioner at the Securities Exchange Commission, sworn in for her second term in August.  Sometimes referred to as “Crypto Mom,” Peirce has been a fierce advocate for the industry in a regulatory context that hasn’t...
20 min
1280
The Most Important Trends and People Shaping Cr...
What were the most important trends? Who were the most important people? Was it the year of Bitcoin Macro, the year of DeFi or both? Ryan Selkis is the founder and CEO of Messari. Each year he puts together a massive “” report that looks at the...
62 min
1281
MicroStrategy Is Raising Another $400M to Buy BTC
Today on the Brief: BBVA set to offer crypto trading and custody Wells Fargo discusses bitcoin in recent investor memo Square launches Bitcoin Clean Energy Initiative with $10 million  Our main discussion: Michael Saylor is back at it. ...
17 min
1282
China's Latest Digital Currency Trial Is Its Mo...
Today on the Brief: COVID-19 vs. Stimulus  Small hedge funds outperform large brethren  Equities now worth 115% of global GDP  Our main discussion: Why the newest trial of China’s central bank digital currency is its most important...
13 min
1283
Niall Ferguson on Why Bitcoin and China Are Win...
On today’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads Niall Ferguson’s latest Op-Ed for Bloomberg: “” In it, Ferguson argues that bitcoin’s sovereignty and “built-in scarcity in a virtual world characterized by boundless abundance” are driving its...
15 min
1284
$50K BTC in 2021? Bloomberg Analysts Join the '...
On this edition of the weekly recap, NLW looks at the consolidating narrative of a bitcoin rally that is: Being driven by institutional investors Shifting the center of the industry from East Asia to North America  Winning converts from major...
9 min
1285
A ‘Santa Claus Rally’ for the Stock Market?
Today on the Brief: Payrolls report underperforms expectations Spotify looking for crypto director Lame-duck crypto legislation on the way?    Our main discussion: Will we see a “Santa Claus rally” this year?  This kind of rally...
14 min
1286
Why Stablecoins Are the First Battleground of t...
On Wednesday, three U.S. congressional Democrats announced the STABLE Act, an 18-page bill that would require, among other things, stablecoin issuers to acquire banking charters, get approval from the Federal Reserve and hold FDIC insurance.  The...
25 min
1287
Josh Brown on Bitcoin’s ‘Respectability Rally’ ...
Josh Brown is the CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management. He is also the host of “The Halftime Report” on CNBC, author of the “Reformed Broker” blog and host of “The Compound Show” podcast.  Most recently, he is the author of “.” In...
32 min
1288
Why a $631B Asset Manager Just Changed Its Mind...
Today on the Brief: Libra is now “Diem”  Christine Lagarde comes down on private stablecoins  Dow closes its best month in 33 years  Our main discussion: AllianceBernstein changes its mind.  Yesterday, CoinDesk received...
26 min
1289
Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High: What Happens Ne...
On this historic day, NLW looks at punching through its previous December 2017 all-time high. Specifically, he looks at: How different people benchmark the all-time high  What drove the latest price action, including the prospect of new...
13 min
1290
How Bitcoin Gets to $100,000
On this edition of The Breakdown’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads  by Hong Fang, CEO of OKCoin.  In it, Fang provides a set of valuation models and scenarios that plausibly lead to bitcoin achieving a significant $100,000 value...
21 min
1291
What Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary Means f...
On this edition of The Breakdown weekly recap, NLW looks at what was an absolutely action-packed holiday week.  He discusses: price action  The Dow’s 30,000 psychological milestone  Eth 2.0 cleared for Beacon chain launch  The...
9 min
1292
ENCORE: Luke Gromen on the History and (Declini...
One of the most significant macroeconomic questions facing the world is what the future of the global reserve system, dominated for the last 80 years by the U.S. dollar, holds.  Today’s episode is a replay of NLW’s epic conversation with...
74 min
1293
Schmuck Insurance: Chamath Palihapitiya's Presc...
When NLW asked Crypto Twitter for recommendations of the best way to convince friends and family about and crypto, one of the ideas was to review old articles that have stood the test of time.  With that in mind, NLW today reads Chamath...
10 min
1294
The Most Bullish Bitcoin Arguments for Your Tha...
Today’s Breakdown is a prep kit for the inevitable conversations about as friends and family sit down at the Thanksgiving table this year.  NLW discusses arguments ranging from price action to who is buying to why they’re buying to good...
16 min
1295
Lyn Alden on Money Printing, Bitcoin and the En...
Today’s guest is Lyn Alden. Lyn is the founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy and one of today’s best-known and most-respected macro analysts. In this conversation, she and NLW discuss: Anti-deflation vs. inflation Why money printing is...
63 min
1296
A Bitcoin Shortage? PayPal and Cash App Buying ...
Today on the Brief: AstraZeneca and University of Oxford release third positive COVID-19 vaccine trial data Trump administration ratchets up pressure on China Another DCEP lottery trial coming Our main discussion: a narrative shift, growing...
13 min
1297
Bitcoin ETF Time? What SEC Chairman Jay Clayton...
On this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads Joe Nocera’s recent Op-Ed “” from Bloomberg.  NLW expands upon the piece, discussing Clayton’s legacy in crypto and how a Biden economic team might impact the space.
12 min
1298
What Do Mexico's Second Wealthiest Billionaire ...
On this edition of The Breakdown weekly recap, NLW discusses: Traditional markets: The tension between vaccine optimism and a growing national wave of economy-disrupting lockdowns Regulatory landscape: Crypto ally Brian Brooks nominated for full term...
10 min
1299
10 Metrics Where Bitcoin Has Already Hit New Al...
Earlier this week, investor Nic Carter published a piece called “” showing just how far bitcoin had come and how fundamentally bullish this quiet run-up was.  In this piece, NLW goes over those metrics that have achieved all-time highs, and...
14 min
1300
A Crypto Ally as Top US Bank Regulator?
Today on the Brief: Markets fight to remain optimistic  Jobless claims rise for the first time in five weeks China borrows at negative rates for the first time  Our main discussion: a crypto ally as top bank regulator?  Brian Brooks...
14 min