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.


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Investing
1301
Bitcoin Is the Most Illiquid It’s Ever Been: 12...
NLW looks at the current state of crypto markets through numbers, including: Bitcoin illiquid supply  Lightning Network capacity  Evergrande’s debt The total value of CryptoPunks  And more Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to...
16 min
1302
The Dreaded Federal Reserve Taper Is Coming
Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW examines the upcoming Federal Reserve winding down, or taper, of its support for the markets. This includes scaling back its bond-buying programs, a process that could begin as early as next month and conclude the...
13 min
1303
Snoop Is Medici? The Mainstream Infiltration Co...
Today on the Brief: BlockFi gets another extension Chainalysis’s secret data honeypot Robinhood crypto finally gets transfers In our main discussion, NLW talks how crypto has mainstreamed over the last year, including: Bitcoin for hedge funders...
20 min
1304
Did the SEC Really Serve Subpoenas at Mainnet?
Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at reports from Messari’s Mainnet conference that the Securities and Exchange Commission served one of the speakers with a subpoena right before a panel. He discusses: The growing tension between securities...
14 min
1305
Why Is September So Bad for Bitcoin?
Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at the historic weakness in the bitcoin market in the month of September. He examines: The numbers that show how persistent this trend has been Some anecdotal explanations for why it’s so  Why September...
14 min
1306
Why a CBDC Would Make the Fed’s Job Miserable
A reading of JP Koning’s essay for Coindesk “” Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  Spotify: Google:   Join the discussion:   Follow on Twitter: NLW: Breakdown:  “The Breakdown” is written,...
11 min
1307
Securities Regulators in Texas, New Jersey and ...
On this edition of “The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at: The latest in China’s Evergrande crisis  Texas and New Jersey target Celsius on their lending products  Bitcoin adoption in Laos A wrap-up on the OpenSea NFT front...
11 min
1308
Is China’s Evergrande Crisis a Global Systemic ...
Today’s show is a look at one of the most important but under-discussed macro events in the world today: the crisis surrounding China’s massive real estate developer Evergrande. The company’s share price has fallen more than 85% this year and...
17 min
1309
Laos Does About-Face on Bitcoin to Attract Chin...
Today’s episode of “The Breakdown” looks at a variety of topics covering the evolving relationships between states and digital currencies, including: Inner Mongolia’s fight to keep crypto mining out  Laos’ official about-face on crypto...
11 min
1310
Free Markets vs. Investor Protections: The Late...
Today on The Breakdown, NLW examines SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s testimony yesterday in front of the Senate Banking Committee. He discusses: How some allies from the Infrastructure Bill put the screws to Gensler on lack of clarity around securities...
20 min
1311
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
1312
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
1313
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
1314
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
1315
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
1316
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
1317
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
1318
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
1319
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
1320
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
1321
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
1322
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
1323
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
1324
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
1325
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