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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1701
Previewing the Economic Showdowns Coming This F...
On this week’s edition of The Breakdown Weekly Recap, NLW argues the big story of the week was actually a set of smaller stories that preview the faultlines and economic debates likely to absorb us in the coming months.  These include: The...
10 min
1702
What a Professional Trader Thinks of the Fed, R...
Today on the Brief: The DXY hits a 52-week low Consumers seeking alternatives to cash  Bank of England rebuilds settlement system to work with CBDCs Our main conversation is with trader and analyst Tony Greer. In this conversation, he and NLW...
66 min
1703
The Bond Market Is the Truth Teller No One List...
Today on the Brief: More bad news from jobless claims and the GDP The big tech hearing was a whole bunch of nothing; watch TikTok instead Robinhood dives into Kodak (but so do illegal insider traders) Our main conversation is with independent bond...
55 min
1704
How DeFi Could Disrupt Traditional Finance, Fea...
Today on the Brief: Big tech goes to Washington The debate on the next COVID-19 relief act heats up More on institutional investors’ move into gold  “Imagine a world without counterparty risk.” That was Chainlink co-founder Sergey...
82 min
1705
How Real Is Bitcoin’s Rally? 8 Interpretations ...
It was a beautiful Monday.  crashed through $10,000 and got all the way up to a new yearly high of about $11,000 before retracing slightly.  As with any dramatic price action, people were quick to start giving their interpretations of why...
24 min
1706
SPACs 101: A Bubble, the Future or Both?
Special purpose acquisition companies have been around since the 1990s, but have seen a significant uptick in popularity in recent years. Companies like Virgin Galactic, Draft Kings and Nikola have changed SPAC’s reputation from a tool for second-...
27 min
1707
The Economic Conflict That Will Shape The Next ...
This week on Long Reads Sunday, our selection is by Adam Tooze in the London Review of Books.  Nominally a review of four recent scholarly works on the conflict between the US and China, Tooze main argument is that the central problem with...
24 min
1708
As Economic Indicators Get Worse, the US Revs U...
This week on the Breakdown Weekly Recap, NLW covers: A terrible week for US-China tensions, with dueling Consulate closures and an incredibly hawkish speech from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Worsening economic indicators, particularly around...
14 min
1709
Could the European Recovery Plan Actually Break...
Today on the Brief: Which industries are recovering the best China retaliates against U.S. after consulate shutdown  Dollar heads toward its worst month since 2018 Our main discussion features returning guest Tuomas Malinen, CEO of GnS...
32 min
1710
Will Big Tech Enable or Destroy Small Business?...
Today on the Brief: Disappointing jobless claim numbers with first increase in 4 months US banks now allows to custody crypto Senate hears arguments for a digital dollar in the context of US-China economic competition Our main conversation with...
51 min
1711
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
1712
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
1713
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
1714
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
1715
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
1716
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
1717
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
1718
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
1719
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
1720
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
1721
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
1722
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
1723
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
1724
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
1725
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