CoinDesk Podcast Network

A reading on revolutions from the late great David Graeber.  This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Earlier this week, news broke that David Graeber, author of influential works such as “Debt: The First 5000 Years,” had passed away.  In his memory, today’s Long Reads Sunday is a reading of his 2013 piece “A Practical Utopian’s Guide to the Coming Collapse.”  In it, he argue...

The markets kicked off the week with a 5-1 Tesla stock split rally and ended with major questions about tech company valuations. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. On this episode of The Breakdown Weekly Recap, NLW looks at the full story the stock markets are telling us about the economy, including: SoftBank unmasked as the “Nasdaq whale” playing the same options game...

It wasn’t long ago the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade went live on an official test network. Developers have been catching mission-critical bugs in the code ever since.  This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. “This is the biggest testnet launch that Ethereum 2.0 has seen. … So we learned about things that were frustrating for people. We found some bugs. We’ve been troubleshooting a v...

From the U.S. presidential elections of 1896 to the dot-com bubble to housing markets in 2006, these historical moments help us make sense of a truly WTF year. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Inspired by Michael Batnik’s “All Wrapped In One,” this episode examines eight moments from history that can help us make sense of one of the most chaotic years of our lives.  I...

A look at the subculture and ethos driving the white-hot DeFi space, which has grown from $2 billion to $9 billion in total value locked in just two months. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Today on the Brief: Traditional markets falter, led by tech stocks Bitcoin falls under $11,000 for the first time since July Stablecoins mint $100 million daily since mid-July Our...

One of the best-known macro analysts breaks down last week’s Jerome Powell speech and whether it truly represents a new policy era for the Federal Reserve. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Today on the Brief: Debt will exceed U.S. GDP for the first time since 1946 SPACs in action! Decentralized exchange volume flippens centralized exchanges  Our main conversation is w...

This Best of The Breakdown August 2020 edition features commentary from Hugh Hendry, Preston Pysh and Adam Tooze. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. August has come to a close. In this recap and “best of” episode, NLW looks at the big themes that defined the month. Most notable was the discussion of inflation culminating in the Federal Reserve’s newly announced policy o...

The booming stock market is driven by perception of the Federal Reserve’s commitment to high prices and growing individual trading, but how sustainable is it? This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Today’s episode of The Breakdown looks at the stories the stock market is trying to tell, including: New all-time high in total market capitalization to GDP ratio (higher than do...

The Winklevoss brothers make an argument that, in the long run, bitcoin is the only good safe haven.  This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. This week’s episode of Long Reads Sunday is a reading of the latest essay from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. The essay looks systematically at the problems of the slate of current store-of-value assets, including the U.S. dollar, oil a...

Fed Chair Jerome Powell tried to make it seem like the end of an era, but didn’t inspire confidence in the central bank’s ability to lead in the era that comes next. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. On The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap, NLW looks at the shifting sands of the global economy. He says Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole this week was...

From COVID-19 relapses to election insecurity, these factors drive defensiveness up and demand down.  This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Today on the Brief: Skepticism around Powell’s inflation prognostications The Tesla Stock Split Game China’s COVID-19 vaccine maker presses countries for early adoption Our main discussion: The Anxiety Index We live in an economy organ...

The Federal Reserve Chair announced a slate of new policy approaches, but are they inspired or impotent?  This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke Thursday at the annual Jackson Hole conference convened by the Kansas City Fed, which was virtual this year due to COVID-19.  In the highly anticipated speech, Powell laid out a number of k...

How crypto-powered Airtm is teaming with Venezuela’s opposition government to distribute $18 million in funds the U.S. seized from the Maduro dictatorship, featuring Airtm CEO Ruben Galindo. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Today on the Brief  The SEC changes accredited investor rules  Fintech and crypto investor Ribbit Capital starts $350 million SPAC Previewing Fede...

As companies have to shift their business model to contend with low interest rates, the largest find themselves in a comparatively better situation. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Today’s episode of The Breakdown is an extended edition of the Brief. NLW discusses: The “COVID-19 vaccine trade” on Wall Street kicks markets higher The latest on TikTok vs. the U.S. and...

An economic historian and one of Foreign Policy’s “Top Global Thinkers of the Decade” discusses post-COVID-19 global economics and politics. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Our guest today is Adam Tooze. Adam holds the Shelby Cullom Davis Chair of History at Columbia University and serves as director of its European Institute. He is known for his books “The Deluge: T...

When FOMC minutes suggested the Federal Reserve might not employ yield curve control, the markets reacted angrily.  This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. On today’s edition of The Breakdown’s Long Reads Sunday, our selections have to do with one of the hottest topics in central banking: yield curve control.  “What Is Yield Curve Control?” The first piece is from the St. Lo...

Despite the stock market returning to all-time highs, many can’t shake the feeling that all is not well in the economy.  This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Today on The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap: People aren’t buying “the Great American Recovery” Let’s stop considering the economy as one thing Dave Portnoy doesn’t care about your principles DeFi is the Wild West and save...

From the devastation of the service industry to never-ending central bank intervention, these factors make predicting the future of the economy nearly impossible. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. The “three-body problem” is a physics issue that deals with unpredictable futures.  In a recent essay, John Mauldin argues the economy is actually experiencing an “eight-body...

Whether fighting for reduced taxes for staking or regulatory sandboxes for tokens, these politicians break the mold when it comes to digital assets. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Today on the Brief: Markets react to FOMC notes Taiwan blocks China streaming services Initial jobless claims back on the rise Our main discussion is a look at the politicians on both side...

The S&P 500 has recovered to hit new all-time highs but how real is it, and how are leading finance minds interpreting the recovery? This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Today, NLW debuts a new format: “10 Takes in 10(ish) Minutes.”  In this analysis, he looks at 10 takes surrounding the S&P 500’s return to positive territory on the year, including: Great American comebac...

A conversation with a VC about changes in fintech, crypto and how public market trends shape the startup scene. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Today on the Brief: Everyone turns bullish as S&P 500 nears all-time highs Emerging market currencies are floundering  Bitcoin holding sentiment highest in two years Our main conversation features Race Capital’s Chris McCann....

The numbers are all over the place and the narratives are even more complicated, so what’s the real story with inflation?  This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. There is perhaps nothing more important or contentious in macroeconomics right now than the question of inflation.  On the one hand, there is a growing concern that rapidly growing money supply and increasing centr...

In this audio interview, CoinDesk’s Leigh Cuen and Fodé Diop, founder of the Dakar Bitcoin Developers meetup in Senegal, talk about bitcoin in Africa.  This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. From how mobile devices offer the primary point of access and social media groups offer local liquidity, Cuen and Diop explore what cryptocurrency adoption actually looks like in emergi...

After a Winklevoss encounter highlights Elon Musk’s space mining dreams, maybe we should remind ourselves of the right-here-at-home benefits bitcoin brings. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Earlier this week, the Winklevoss brothers introduced Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy to bitcoin.  One of the notable parts of the recap video was a discussion of how Elon Mus...

In this audio interview, CoinDesk’s Leigh Cuen and Venezuelan journalist Javier Bastardo talk about cryptocurrency and the media industry. This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io. Caracas-based bitcoiner and journalist Javier Bastardo covers the crypto scene in Latin America since 2017 and has been living partially off bitcoin, thanks to BTCPay server and a variety of employe...