A daily analysis of macroeconomics, bitcoin, geopolitics and big picture power shifts, hosted by Nathaniel Whittemore @nlw. The Breakdown is part of Blockworks.
A Simple Explanation of DeFi and Yield Farming ...
Today on the Brief: US Gov’t forces China’s Houston consulate to close US previously-owned housing market grows 20.7% May to June Insider stock selling reaches record levels Our main discussion: DeFi 101 Today’s episode of The Breakdown is a...
27 min
1602
Is the Fed About to Start Promoting Inflation?
Today on the Brief: EU leaders agree on $2 billion stimulus package LinkedIn job cuts show weakness in the professional sector Has DeFi jumped the shark? Our main discussion: The Fed’s changing inflation strategy University of Oregon professor and...
16 min
1603
What Is GPT-3 and Should We Be Terrified?
Today on the Brief: Mastercard, Standard Chartered and PayPal all deepen their engagement with crypto Japan inches closer to a central bank digital currency The real estate “doom trade” opens up Our main discussion: GPT-3 Generative pertained...
21 min
1604
Are Stablecoins Eurodollars 2.0? Long Reads Sunday
On this week’s Long Reads Sunday, we look at two essays about stablecoins previously published on CoinDesk. The first is called by Hasu and was one of the first pieces to recognize that demand was coming not just from the crypto space but...
14 min
1605
Social Media Is Democracy’s Faultline: The Brea...
On this edition of the Weekly Recap, NLW explores: No-volatility bitcoin and DeFi’s big quarter An uptick in central bank currency action PayPal crypto confirmation A China-U.S. rhetoric flare up Social media as democracy’s fault line In Fed...
10 min
1606
What If the Too-Strong Dollar Is a Solved Probl...
Today on the Brief: The latest information in the Twitter hack Thailand starts using its central bank digital currency Treasury Secretary Mnuchin calls on Congress for more funds Our main conversation is with Jon Turek, author of “Cheap...
64 min
1607
No, the Twitter Hack Wasn't about Bitcoin
Today on the Brief: Adjustment to bank profits in anticipation of growing debt delinquency The lowest decrease in jobless claims since March A boost in retail spending Today’s main discussion: The Great Twitter Hack, feat. Dr....
30 min
1608
A Primer on the US and China's 'New Cold War'
No geopolitical relationship will shape the world over the coming decade as much as that of the U.S. and China. A day after President Trump signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act enabling sanctions on those that threaten the autonomy of China (and...
26 min
1609
Why Are Execs of Bankrupt Companies Being Rewar...
Today on the Brief: A followup on Tesla, corporate earnings and PayPal’s crypto ambitions New COVID-19 shutdowns in California Small businesses on the brink Our main conversation: Bloomberg has reported recently bankrupt companies...
23 min
1610
The Real Story Behind Tesla's Crazy Rally
Today on the Brief: Wall Street quarterly earnings season opens Investor flock to higher-yielding Chinese government bonds Bitcoin whales go down but other types of HODLers go up Our main conversation: What the hell is going on with $TSLA? Elon Musk...
22 min
1611
Does COVID-19 Have The World Rethinking Dollar ...
On this episode of Long Reads Sunday, we look at Professor Stephen S. Roach’s piece In it, he argues: Americans have been squandering their savings potential Because of this, we are forced to borrow surplus savings from abroad We have...
9 min
1612
The Mixed Signals Economy: The Breakdown Weekly...
On The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap, NLW explores: The final tally on the TikTok Doge viral campaign The growing geopolitical tension between China and the US and where it’s manifesting Positive economic indicators in reduced jobless...
10 min
1613
Against Outrage Culture: Why Michael Krieger En...
Today on the Brief: Hong Kong re-closes schools based on COVID-19 growth Coinbase explores direct U.S. exchange listing China starts selling stock, easing massive rally Our main conversation is with Liberty Blitzkrieg creator and editor...
77 min
1614
Social Chaos and Bankruptcy Rallies: The Best I...
Today on the Brief: Slight good news in new and continuing jobless claims Record corporate equity and debt sales during the crisis USDC freezes $100k Our main conversation: Introducing the Macro Media Index. The Macro Media Index is a monthly...
25 min
1615
TikTok Doge Is Everything About 2020 Finance In...
What’s old is new again! What happens when you combine a mostly hibernating memecoin with the world’s most powerful (and controversial) meme platform, and throw in a new generation of daytraders that have become convinced that they can drive the...
22 min
1616
Central Banks Cannot Print Jobs: Understanding ...
Today on the Brief: Social media apps get caught in geopolitical tensions Pitchforks around the Paycheck Protection Program Brazil blocks Binance Our main discussion is with Daniel Lacalle. Daniel is chief economist at Tressis and is the...
65 min
1617
China Stocks Surge and NYC Real Estate Craters:...
In this extended Brief, NLW tells the story of the economy through five themes: The story of the economy as told by five macroeconomic indicators including Chinese stocks, New York City real estate, coronavirus cases and more. China stocks surge –...
20 min
1618
Why Bitcoin Matters For Freedom [Long Reads Sun...
An appropriate post-July 4th episode of the Breakdown's #LongReadsSunday featuring Human Rights Foundation CSO Alex Gladstein's "Why Bitcoin Matters For Freedom"
8 min
1619
It’s Time for a Revolution in Financial Educati...
Financial education and financial literacy are at crisis levels in this country. Financial advisers spend billions on advertising but a fraction of that on education. The resources that are available tend to be inaccessible and not designed for the...
34 min
1620
Here’s How to Expand Who Contributes to Bitcoin...
OKCoin and BitMEX recently came together to provide a $150,000 grant to Bitcoin Core developer Amiti Uttarwar. In this conversation, Amiti and OKCoin CEO Hong Fang discuss: Why OKCoin believes it is essential for companies in the space to...
32 min
1621
Why the Robinhood Revolution Is the Future of F...
Even before the COVID-19 crisis, Reddit’s WallStreetBets channel was featured on the cover of Bloomberg BusinessWeek as an emerging market force. Since then, between the surge in signups for Robinhood and the wave of followers of Davey Day...
Satoshi Nakamoto is often recognized for his technical genius in solving the double spend problem. He is also widely revered for his willingness to walk away from the protocol to make it stronger, something no other entrepreneur who has created...
39 min
1623
‘It Sure Doesn’t Feel Like the Greatest Economy...
What would you do if you were approaching your 40s, burned out and realizing the type of financial success you had been pursuing wasn’t actually serving your true goal of freedom? If you were George Gammon, the answer would be to change...
65 min
1624
How the Fed Fans the Flame - The Best of The Br...
June 2020 will go down in the history books as an extremely chaotic and confusing period. In this “Best of the Month” retrospective, we look at some of the best guest conversations from The Breakdown, including: Human Rights Foundation CSO...
29 min
1625
A Primer on the Eurodollar and Shadowbanking Sy...
The latest Long Read is by and This piece covers: The Dollar Milkshake Theory Why the demand for the US dollar remains so high Why demand for dollars is increasing rather than decreasing What "eurodollars" are What the shadow banking...