CoinDesk Podcast Network

An update on the Bitcoin Mining Council and the China Mining Ban. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io and Bitstamp. Today on The Breakdown, NLW covers: More information about the Bitcoin Mining Council, and why its members say they’re strictly focused on energy transparency  A new, temporary crypto mining ban in Iran The latest on the China mining ban, including new proposed rules from Inner Mong...

The community had extremely mixed reactions to Michael Saylor and Elon Musk’s new initiative.  This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io and Bitstamp. Yesterday, Michael Saylor and Elon Musk surprised the Bitcoin community when they announced a new "green" mining initiative that would see many of North America’s leading mining operators come together to develop common energy reporting standards as well...

A big shift from one of finance’s biggest names, plus a recap on the latest China-Bitcoin intrigue. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io and Bitstamp. Today’s episode of “The Breakdown” is split into two parts. In part one, NLW recaps the latest out of China, including: Interpretations of Friday’s surprise targeting in a speech by the Vice Premier A weekend market crash, the second of the week  Mi...

A reading of two recent essays on central bank digital currencies. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io. For this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads: “What If Somebody Hacks the Money Pipeline Next?” By David Z. Morris “A Central Bank Digital Currency Would Be Bad for the US” by Dante Disparte - Nexo.io lets you borrow against your crypto at 5.9% APR, earn up to 12% on your idle assets, and exc...

One of Capitol Hill’s most connected insiders says crypto is here to stay. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io. On this week’s “Breakdown Weekly Recap,” NLW explores U.S. regulatory FUD. He specifically looks at recent statements from the SEC’s Gary Gensler, as well as new Treasury Dept. policy that wants businesses to report crypto transactions of over $10,000 to the Internal Revenue Service. He...

Could new pressure from the CCP remove coal-powered hash power from the bitcoin mix?  This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io. This week has been China story after China story in the world of crypto. Increasingly, NLW argues, bitcoiners are getting sick of the baggage that Chinese mining and Chinese state involvement place on bitcoin and crypto as a whole. In this episode, he looks at the latest news...

It wasn’t narrative but market structure that drove yesterday’s big move down.  This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io. In this episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at the market structure dimension of the crypto crash, leveraging insights from Alameda Research, Willy Woo and many more. He explores:  Why the recent bull run was driven by derivatives more than by spot trading How crypto moving onto...

In a sea of red, investors ask whether this is just a bull market pullback or represents a more fundamental bearish turn. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io. In one of the bloodiest days in recent crypto history, NLW looks at the reasons behind the wild market crash and explores whether it means an end to the bull market. As part of this, he explores five different categories of fear, uncertaint...

This week, “Opinionated” co-hosts Ben Schiller, Anna Baydakova and Danny Nelson are talking to Aaron Lammer, author of a podcast series about the now-defunct Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io. The QuadrigaCX saga, first broken by our colleague Nik De and still not finished, could be a dark detective novel: Gerald Cotten, a CEO of a cryptocurrency exchange Qu...

Despite inflammatory headlines, today’s note from the People’s Bank of China was a reaffirmation of central bank policy from 2017. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io. On today’s episode, NLW provides an extended brief style episode, covering: Crypto’s allies on Capitol Hill Is “long bitcoin” the most crowded trade in the world? How much of the dip was just Tax Day? No, China didn’t just ban cryp...

Bitcoin Twitter’s latest skirmish with Elon Musk has as much to say about the nature of power in a social media landscape as it does about bitcoin. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io. If you thought last week’s Elon intrigue was over, think again. This weekend saw an absolute showdown at the bitcoin corral, with Musk seriously losing his cool. In this episode, NLW explores the tussle from a numb...

Bitcoin's 'Nakamoto Consensus' changed the world. For the first time ever, strangers on the internet were empowered by a system that allowed them to individually and jointly track who owned which internet-native items... First money, then early stage (and often illegal) investments, followed by digital cats, multi-million dollar art, viral memes and soon enough, well, everything. This episode is s...

Stories from Nigeria, Sudan and Ethiopia show how bitcoin is being used in the real world. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io and Bitstamp. This week’s “Long Reads Sunday” is a reading of Alex Gladstein’s latest piece, “Check Your Financial Privilege.” It follows the stories of people in three African nations who paint a very different picture from the rampant speculation you hear about in the n...

From Elon’s shenanigans to Vitalik’s SHIB rug pull, this was one for the history books. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io and Bitstamp. On this edition of “The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap,” NLW discusses: Why the Elon Musk issue is really one of power and audience What the Colonial Pipeline attack reveals about our critical infrastructure  The debate around Vitalik Buterin and the Shiba coins - Ne...

In almost any scenario, the industry faces one less category of FUD on the other side of the investigations. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io and Bitstamp. Today on the Brief: More chaos from Elon Musk Hedge funds moving into DeFi? Tether reserve attestations Our main discussion looks at recent revelations of investigations by the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service around B...

Tesla has stopped accepting bitcoin due to environmental concerns – or so it says. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io and Bitstamp. Crypto Twitter exploded last night when Elon Musk announced Tesla was backtracking and would no longer be accepting bitcoin as payment for cars. The debate came fast and furious about whether this was genuine environmental concern and, if so, how Elon was just disco...

Do rising inflation and rising levels of bitcoin ownership have anything to do with one another? This episode is sponsored by Nexo.ioand Bitstamp. Today on the Brief: SEC throws cold water on bitcoin ETF dreams MoneyGram brings bitcoin for cash to 12,000 locations (for a hefty fee) Palantir considering adding bitcoin to balance sheet Our main discussion: Inflation has seen its biggest growth month...

The argument that the dollar is losing prestige worldwide got a major boost from a legendary investor.  This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io and Bitstamp. Last year, hedge fund gurus like Paul Tudor Jones set off the wave of institutional bitcoin buying by cementing the narrative of bitcoin as an inflation hedge. Today, one of those investors - Stanley Druckenmiller - is back with even more dire p...

Every day sees new reports of prices going up – from commodities to plastic to fruit. Are we ready to use the “I” word?  This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io and Bitstamp. Today on the Brief: Elon Musk saves an SNL flop with a dogecoin satellite  Growing interest in Ethereum  UBS explores offering crypto to wealthy clients Our main discussion: The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are both running...

A China-focused discussion on this week’s “Long Reads Sunday.” This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR.org and Genesis Trading. On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads Sune Sorenson’s “China Is Opting Out of US-Run Financial System.” He also discusses recent pieces by Niall Ferguson and The Economist that point to a growing conversation about CBDCs that is fundamentally about power and th...

While everyone was paying attention to Dog Money, bitcoin was quietly accumulating institutional news. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR.org and Genesis Trading. On this edition of “The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at: Why ETH should have had most of the attention The camps forming around dogecoin and why it’s likely to dump after “Saturday Night Live” A slew of massive institutio...

From Iran miner control to “OFAC compliant blocks,” a new attack vector has emerged. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR.org and Genesis Trading. Today on the Brief: Square puts up monster Q1 bitcoin numbers First crypto comments from new SEC Chair Gary Gensler 3 new institutional bitcoin developments  Our main discussion:  As bitcoin becomes more mainstream, the attempts from the powers th...

A new research paper from ING suggests that, at the very least, they’re paying more attention. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR.org and Genesis Trading. Today on the Brief: MercadoLibre has added bitcoin to its balance sheet Galaxy Digital buys BitGo  Debates around the new, improved, real economy  Our main discussion: While the last year has seen a massive amount of growth in decentrali...

The latest in NYDIG’s year of institutional partnerships has perhaps the broadest potential for financial inclusion in Bitcoin yet. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR.org and Genesis Trading. NLW is joined today by Robby Gutmann, CEO of NYDIG. NYDIG is quickly emerging as one of the leading companies helping onboard institutions to bitcoin. This year, it received investment from and announ...

As doge soars 45% in a day, the question of how to interpret its success is more pertinent than ever. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR.org and Genesis Trading. NLW asked his Twitter followers about what the success of dogecoin meant to the crypto industry. He got an extremely diverse set of takes. Some see it as a triumph of crypto’s uncontrollability. Some see it as a triumph of the und...