The Breakdown

Sentencing for the Celsius founder. Dueling crypto hearings in Washington. Bitcoin back over $100k. NLW and Scott Melker count down the 5 most important stories in crypto this week. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nathanielwhittemorecrypto Subscribe to the newsletter: https://breakdown.beehiiv.com/ Join the disc...

The latest FOMC meeting resulted in zero policy changes as the Federal Reserve adopts a cautious "wait and see" stance amid rising economic risks. NLW analyzes Chair Powell’s careful positioning, balancing uncertainty around trade-induced inflation and employment pressures. Plus, the evolving trade landscape: negotiations intensify with China, the UK deal looms, and the U.S. administration signals...

Yesterday's Congressional crypto hearings descended into partisan theatrics as Democrats led by Maxine Waters staged a dramatic walkout, splitting discussions into dueling roundtables. At issue: allegations of presidential crypto-related corruption versus critical bipartisan efforts to establish regulatory clarity for crypto markets. NLW breaks down the political maneuvers, highlights the substant...

House Democrats, led by Rep. Maxine Waters, plan a walkout to derail a joint hearing on the 212-page crypto market-structure bill, framing it as a protest against Trump-linked stablecoin dealings. NLW dissects the politics, bill revisions, and industry reactions. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nathanielwhittemo...

Today on The Breakdown, NLW discusses Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs' veto of a bill allowing state investments in Bitcoin, highlighting existing crypto exposure via Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). He also covers Senate Democrats' resistance to stablecoin legislation, led by Elizabeth Warren, threatening bipartisan crypto regulation. On a positive note, Apple now allows crypto for in-app purchase...

From big price targets from major institutions to Ray Dalio sayings its too late to Arthur Hayes saying long everything, NLW breaks down an interesting if confusing week. Sponsored by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Crypto Tax Calculator⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax season headaches with Crypto Tax Calculator: Generate accurate, CPA-endorsed tax reports fully compliant with IRS rules. Se...

Arthur Hayes says it’s time to “long everything”—and in today’s episode, NLW digs into why. Broadcasting from Token 2049 in Dubai, Hayes makes a bold case for an upcoming liquidity wave that could supercharge markets. NLW breaks down Hayes’ forecast, the return of CZ to the public stage, and insights from BlackRock and Goldman on crypto’s next chapter. Then it’s a deep dive into troubling GDP numb...

In this episode of The Breakdown, host NLW explores legendary investor Ray Dalio's recent update on the shifting global monetary order. Dalio asserts that the U.S. is nearing a significant decline due to unsustainable economic fundamentals, and nations are now actively reducing their dependence on the U.S. dollar. NLW discusses Dalio’s vision for a cooperative, negotiated global financial realignm...

Both houses of Arizona legislature have passed a Bitcoin Reserve Bill. The question now is whether the Governor will actually sign it. Meanwhile, bullish sentiment is coming back as BTC floats around $95,000. Sponsored by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Crypto Tax Calculator⁠⁠⁠⁠ Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax season headaches with Crypto Tax Calculator: Generate accurate, CPA-endorsed tax reports fu...

Perma Bitcoin bulls Ark Invest have raised their 2030 bullish bitcoin target. More important than the number is the logic, which argues that we're not accounting enough for lost coins with our supply models. Sponsored by: ⁠⁠⁠Crypto Tax Calculator⁠⁠⁠ Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax season headaches with Crypto Tax Calculator: Generate accurate, CPA-endorsed tax reports fully...

A reading and discussion inspired by https://www.foreignaffairs.com/world/global-trading-system-was-already-broken Sponsored by: ⁠⁠Crypto Tax Calculator⁠⁠ Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax season headaches with Crypto Tax Calculator: Generate accurate, CPA-endorsed tax reports fully compliant with IRS rules. Seamlessly integrate with 3000+ wallets, exchanges, and on-chain pla...

NLW joins Scott Melker to discuss the big topics in crypto and macro this week. Trade, tariffs, crypto banking and much more. Sponsored by: ⁠Crypto Tax Calculator⁠ Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax season headaches with Crypto Tax Calculator: Generate accurate, CPA-endorsed tax reports fully compliant with IRS rules. Seamlessly integrate with 3000+ wallets, exchanges, and on-...

NLW discusses market reactions to US tariff negotiations, potential tariff reductions with China, and Bretton Woods institutions facing criticism from the Trump administration for mission creep. He explores Bitcoin's reduced volatility, increased institutional adoption—including the controversial SoftBank-Tether Bitcoin venture—and ends on Trump's meme coin gala announcement driving speculative cr...

There are indicators that trade tensions are dissipating, seeing rallies in both stocks and crypto. Bitcoin is taking its unique place as an asset that can do double duty in a portfolio. Plus the latest on institutional adoption. Sponsored by: Crypto Tax Calculator Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax season headaches with Crypto Tax Calculator: Generate accurate, CPA-endorsed t...

Stocks were down bad again on Monday on concern around the Powell-Trump tiff, but Bitcoin started soaring. How real is this pump? What does it mean for BTC going forward? NLW explores. Sponsored by: Crypto Tax Calculator Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax season headaches with Crypto Tax Calculator: Generate accurate, CPA-endorsed tax reports fully compliant with IRS rules. Se...

NLW catches up on the key macro and crypto stories shaping the news heading into a new week. Sponsored by: Crypto Tax Calculator Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax season headaches with Crypto Tax Calculator: Generate accurate, CPA-endorsed tax reports fully compliant with IRS rules. Seamlessly integrate with 3000+ wallets, exchanges, and on-chain platforms. Import reports dir...

In this episode, we’re joined by Santi from Empire! We discuss today’s crypto market conditions, stablecoin proliferation, and how long-term allocators are accumulating Bitcoin. We also touch on crypto’s data and transparency issues, and the valuation of L1s before wrapping with speculation on alien life. Sponsored by: Crypto Tax Calculator Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax s...

In this episode, our Blockworks Research analysts cover shifting macro conditions, the growth of tokenized gold, Solana’s rising institutional interest, and the evolving overlap between crypto and traditional finance. They also examine airdrop mechanics, critique Berachain’s approach, and debate what trends will define the next two years. Sponsored by: Crypto Tax Calculator Accurate Crypto Taxes....

This week we're joined by Michael Sonnenshein to discuss the future of tokenization. We deep dive into the launch of BUIDL: crypto's largest tokenized fund, institutional demand to build on Solana, Ripple's $1.25b acquisition & more. Sponsored by: Crypto Tax Calculator Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax season headaches with Crypto Tax Calculator: Generate accurate, CPA-endors...

In this episode, Grant McCarty of the Bitcoin Policy Institute joins the show to discuss his early political engagements and origins of BPI, challenges and opportunities around implementing crypto legislation, and the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. We also delve into advancing Bitcoin as a debt instrument, the evolving political landscape, and more. Sponsored by: Crypto Tax Calculator Accurate Crypto...

An Interview with Felix Jauvin & Quinn Thompson from the Forward Guidance podcast to discuss where markets go next from here. After the market sold off in reaction to the Trump tariffs, they deep dive into the bull vs bear case in 2025, Trump's end game, building the perfect portfolio, Coinbase vs Robinhood, is Bitcoin really a safe haven asset & more. Sponsored by: Crypto Tax Calculator Accurate...

A reading and discussion inspired by: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/why-trumps-tariffs-cant-fix-the-broken-fiat-system Sponsored by: Crypto Tax Calculator Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax season headaches with Crypto Tax Calculator: Generate accurate, CPA-endorsed tax reports fully compliant with IRS rules. Seamlessly integrate with 3000+ wallets, exchanges, and on-cha...

NLW and Scott Melker count down the top five stories in crypto. While tariffs continue to dominate the discussion, there was also a significant amount of news around collaborations between crypto-native and tradfi institutions. Sponsored by: Crypto Tax Calculator Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax season headaches with Crypto Tax Calculator: Generate accurate, CPA-endorsed tax...

After bond markets started absolutely puking, President Trump reconsidered his tariffs and announced a 90-day pause. The at least partial reprieve (the trade war with China is still very much on) send stocks soaring -- but how significant is the policy shift actually? Will it be enough to calm rattled nerves or is it just another indicator of how little consistency and assuredness markets are oper...

Despite tariffs dominating the news (and the markets), there have been a number of important stories in crypto, including a wave of institutional tradfi-crypto collabs, a big $1B+ acquisition, and Tether considering launching a US-based stablecoin. Sponsored by: Crypto Tax Calculator Accurate Crypto Taxes. No Guesswork. Say goodbye to tax season headaches with Crypto Tax Calculator: Generate accur...