The Breakdown

In a recent tweet, Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell suggested U.S. regulators like it when bad actors beat good actors because it takes down the crypto industry and the bad actors can be jailed later. In this episode, NLW explores the issue in the context of Custodia Bank's battle to join the Federal Reserve system, and its argument that it is being unlawfully used as a “sacrificial lamb” in the wak...

Hong Kong's securities regulator published proposed rules on Monday for virtual asset trading platforms, fueling the narrative that the next bull market will start in Asia. NLW explores whether the moves are connected to broader changes in the Chinese economy.  - Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Spotify: https://o...

Featured on this week’s “Long Reads Sunday”:    “Regulating Crypto by Enforcement and Stealth Will Set the US Back” – Michael Casey https://www.coindesk.com/consensus-magazine/2023/02/10/regulating-crypto-by-enforcement-and-stealth-will-set-the-us-back/    “The Right Analogy for Crypto Markets” – Nic Carter https://twitter.com/nic__carter/status/1625221587673702400    “How to Fight the Rogue SEC” ...

On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at the newly proposed custody rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission. While the rule has broader implications other than crypto, many in the crypto industry are concerned that Chairman Gary Gensler may use the rule as a roundabout way to expand the SEC’s jurisdiction and therefore cut investment advisers off from the crypto industry.  Enjo...

In today’s episode, NLW breaks down a slew of late-breaking news, including: Terraform Labs and Do Kwon are being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission Binance US made strange transfers of $400 million between 2020 and 2021, according to Reuters Judge Kaplan threatens to revoke Sam Bankman-Fried's bail  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/p...

In this episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW examines the various explanations for Wednesday's 11% increase in BTC’s price, including: Market structure Global liquidity conditions Stablecoin concerns  Ordinals Debt ceiling debates The Asian bid  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/53...

On Tuesday, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on the “Crypto Crash.” NLW discusses the opening statements of the ranking committee member and chairman, as well as the regulatory proposals put forward by witnesses. He also discusses the ruling by a U.S. judge that FTX will not have an independent examiner appointed.  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcas...

On today’s episode, NLW updates on the Paxos situation. Paxos made a statement that it is willing to fight the Securities and Exchange Commission in court over whether BUSD is a security. The main part of the episode is focused on January’s inflation data, which came in slightly higher than expected. NLW argues it’s not enough for the Federal Reserve to consider shifting course.  Enjoying this con...

Last week, rumors swirled that Paxos was the next target for regulatory action. On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported the Securities and Exchange Commission was preparing a suit accusing the company of issuing an unregistered security. Then on Monday, the New York-regulated company announced it would cease issuing Binance USD after the state banking regulator said Paxos couldn’t do so in a s...

On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads:   “A Pragmatic View of ChatGPT in a Web3 World” by Jesus Rodriguez  “How Bitcoin NFTs Might Accidentally Fix Bitcoin's Security Budget” by George Kaloudis  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/538vuul1PuorUDwgkC8JWF?si=ddSvD-HST2e_E7...

On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW goes over the latest front in the crypto wars. On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a $30 million settlement with Kraken over their staking-as-a-service program. The move is rumored to be part of a much larger offensive against crypto involving numerous government offices.  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple: ...

The crypto industry is increasingly facing a U.S. banking system that has been weaponized against it. In this second part of a two-part special, NLW looks at the post-Brian Brooks era at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and examines how crises like Luna and FTX have changed the situation.  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id...

Operation Choke Point was an Obama-era initiative that put political pressure on banks and financial institutions to deny service to out-of-favor industries. Something similar is happening again with intense pressure being exerted for banks not to service the crypto industry. On this first part of a two-episode special, NLW looks at what’s happening, as well as the key recent history of the Office...

On today’s episode, NLW looks at the news that the U.K. has released a public consultation paper on a digital pound. While the British government hasn’t fully greenlit a U.K. central bank digital currency, the announcement argues “the Bank of England and HM Treasury judge that it is likely a digital pound will be needed in the future.” NLW also looks at progress on an Indian digital rupee as well...

At last week’s FOMC meeting, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell surprised many market watchers with a more doveish than expected FOMC speech and Q&A. On Friday, however, the January non-farm payrolls report came in with 517,000 new jobs added – far more than the 185,000 economists expected. Early this week, the Fed responded by deploying a number of officials to suggest that the continued tightne...

Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW catches up on 2022 fallout, including: The White House letter about crypto from last week FTX hearing on whether to appoint an independent examiner Binance temporarily suspending USD deposits and withdrawals  Reports of an agreement between Genesis/DCG and major creditors  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1...

On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads: “The Narrative Problems With Crypto VC” – Regan Bozman “What’s Holding DAOs Back” – Scott Fitsimones  “Initial Coin Offerings Deserve a Rethink” – Don Phan  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/538vuul1PuorUDwgkC8JWF?si=ddSvD-HST2e_E...

This week, the Lebanese pound (or lira) was devalued from 1,500 lira per U.S. dollar to 15,000 lira per USD. At the same time, the black market price of a dollar is 64,300 lira. In this episode, NLW gives the story behind the headlines and tweets, and explains why the World Bank calls Lebanon one of the worst economic crises in the last 150 years.  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast...

Bitcoiners are no stranger to environmental FUD. NLW argues, however, that there are more and more examples of mainstream media telling the story of bitcoin mining’s potential for positive environmental impact. What’s more, some of that thinking is finding the way into state government actions.  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id14386936...

On today’s episode, NLW breaks down the Federal Open Markets Committee rate hike decision, as well as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments on inflation, the labor force, the debt ceiling and loosening financial conditions. While many commentators have argued that Powell failed to be as hawkish as he wanted, NLW argues that Powell’s ultimate objective may have actually changed over the last few mo...

For the last week, the Bitcoin community has been locked in fierce debate around Ordinal Inscriptions, a type of Bitcoin-native NFT that allows people to associate data like JPEGs with individual sats. Some find it an interesting, novel experiment. Others – including at least one core dev – think they should be censored as an illegitimate usage of the Bitcoin blockchain. NLW breaks down the debate...

On today’s episode, NLW breaks down the newly filed report from the Celsius Network bankruptcy court’s independent examiner. The extremely thorough document argues that not only was Celsius engaged in extremely problematic practices, but that numerous employees raised concerns around them. The show also covers the debate around an independent examiner in the FTX case.   - Join the most important c...

On today’s episode, NLW previews the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting this week. While most still believe the Federal Reserve will raise rates by just 0.25%, there is a growing sense the hike will be accompanied by some harsh talk for a market the Fed thinks is getting overly optimistic around rapidly loosening financial conditions.  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple: ...

On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” it’s all about privacy. NLW reads: “Sweeping Crypto Regulation? First Update the Bank Secrecy Act” - Mark Lurie “Privacy Is a Human Right – and the 118th Congress Must Defend It” - Lia Holland, Eseohe Ojo   Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/...

On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at a number of stories from the non-fungible token (NFT) industry this week that suggest where the industry might be headed, including Doodles’ acquisition of an animation studio and Porsche’s contentious entrance into the space.  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Sp...