The Breakdown

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at why markets went down on high European inflation data, and why market signals in general are pointing in multiple directions at once.  - Nexo is a security-first platform where you can buy, exchange and borrow against your crypto. The company safeguards your crypto by relying on five...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at something that could cause a new set of “big picture power shifts” – a growing global food crisis. He explores a set of causal factors including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, inflation and environmental policies that are combining to form a perfect storm.  - Nexo is a security-first platform wher...

  This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   On today’s grab bag episode, NLW looks at: Last month’s Fed meeting minutes Professional musical chairs in crypto  A new proposed SEC/CFTC disclosure that some think shows mission creep Two new nine-figure crypto venture funds    - Nexo is a security-first platform where you can buy, exchange and borrow against your crypto. The comp...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   Homebuilder sentiment is going through its worst stretch since the 2007-2008 housing and financial crisis. New York manufacturing data also surprised with some of the weakest numbers in a decade. On the other hand, U.S. industrial production rose to a new all-time high. So are we headed for a recession or not? NLW explores.  - Nexo is...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   Despite the bear market, both crypto-native and TradFi institutions in the crypto sector continue to plug along. In today’s episode, NLW looks at an update to how crypto banks can get direct access to the Federal Reserve via master accounts and how venture funds are evolving to meet a new type of financial technology era and the lates...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   On today’s episode, NLW looks at the crypto industry’s response to news that 29-year-old Alexey Pertsev was arrested for his work on Tornado Cash. He also looks at Coin Center’s new potential court challenge to the Office of Foreign Asset Controls sanctions, which argues that the agency doesn’t have the authority to sanction a smart c...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis, FTX US and NEAR.   On this edition of “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW excerpts Credit Suisse analyst Zoltan Pozsar’s “War and Interest Rates.” - Nexo is a security-first platform where you can buy, exchange and borrow against your crypto. The company safeguards your crypto by relying on five key fundamentals including real-time auditing and insurance on...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis, FTX US and NEAR.   On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW reflects on the July inflation data as well as the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions on Tornado Cash.  - Nexo is a security-first platform where you can buy, exchange and borrow against your crypto. The company safeguards your crypto by relying on five key fundamentals including real...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis, FTX US and NEAR.   On today’s episode, NLW provides a primer on the recent history of oil markets. He looks at how oil went from trading in negative territory in April 2020 to being a massive contributor to 2022’s inflation. Finally, he explores how oil reflects political realignments that will shape the world in the years to come.  - Nexo is a se...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis, FTX US and NEAR.   NLW is joined today by Jill Gunter, the chief strategy officer at Espresso Systems. In this conversation, they discuss why the U.S. Treasury Department might have chosen an action that seemingly leaves them open to much legal recourse, and why part of the answer might be technological not political.  - Nexo is a security-first p...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis, FTX US and NEAR.   The biggest driver of the macroeconomic backdrop is inflation. At the last FOMC meeting, the Federal Reserve made it clear that its fall decisions about interest-rate increases would be driven by data – most notably inflation data. On today’s show, NLW looks at the just-released July inflation stats and why they’re the first pos...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis, FTX US and NEAR.   Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 528,000 U.S. jobs were added in July. This was nearly double economists’ estimates. The Biden administration used the report as evidence that there is no recession. On today’s episode, NLW digs into why that headline number may be as obfuscating as it is revealing.  - Nexo...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis, FTX US and NEAR.   In breaking news, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced on Monday that it was adding Tornado Cash and associated addresses to its sanctions list. It is seemingly the first time that an entire technology protocol, rather than just an individual or group of individuals, has been added to the lis...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   On this “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads: What Is Crypto’s Downfall? Its Complexity – Jameson Lopp Complexity Theater – NLW  - Nexo is a security-first platform where you can buy, exchange and borrow against your crypto. The company safeguards your crypto by relying on five key fundamentals including real-time auditing and insurance on...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW homes in on an interesting report out of the U.K. that would define crypto as a fundamentally new type of property – something that some crypto lawyers have been arguing in the U.S. for some time.  - Nexo is a security-first platform where you can buy, exchange and borrow against your crypto....

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   One of the biggest challenges to the mainstreaming of crypto is the propensity for novel protocols to be exploited. This week, the Nomad bridge was drained of some $200 million while another vulnerability led to more than 10,000 wallets (largely but not exclusively holding Solana's SOL) being attacked. NLW looks at what happens and wh...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   One would be forgiven for thinking the crypto institutional narrative is dead. Tesla sold bitcoin. Cboe took a huge write-down on the exchange it bought last year. Even Cathie Wood and ARK sold $COIN!   But taking a deeper look, NLW argues that institutional adoption of bitcoin and crypto continues – just in quieter ways than in the p...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   Another day, another bipartisan crypto bill. On today’s episode, NLW covers the latest in a string of legislation that shows that Congress and the Senate are taking their role in determining how crypto is to be regulated seriously. He also covers the news that Michael Saylor is stepping down from the CEO role at MicroStrategy.  - Nexo...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   After weeks of speculation, debate and increasingly bellicose rhetoric, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has decided to go to Taiwan. In today’s episode, NLW explains discussion around the strategy behind the decision, why the timing makes a harsh Chinese response more likely and how the markets are reacting.  - Ne...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US. In today’s episode, NLW looks at June and July as paired months that remade the market landscape. He looks at market data, key events in crypto and key events in macro to paint a picture of where things stand heading into August. The key question he explores is whether we’re in a “sucker’s rally” or the worst really is behind us.  - Nex...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads Nic Carter’s “The Credit Crunch Is Not the End of Crypto Lending.” - Nexo is a security-first platform where you can buy, exchange and borrow against your crypto. The company safeguards your crypto by relying on five key fundamentals including real-time auditing and insurance on custodial...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   “Recession” is the latest word to run afoul of our shifting definitions and political newspeak. This week, numbers from Q2 came out showing that the U.S. had seen a declining GDP for the second quarter in a row – a fairly standard definition of a recession. The political spin was immediate and tortured, but in today’s episode, NLW arg...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US. On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at four reasons markets could see heightened volatility between now and November:  Fund managers making YOLO bets to avoid redemptions Inflation surprises shift the Fed back to hawkish Regulatory and media surprises for crypto  Politics and geopolitics  Nexo is a security-first platform w...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   Yesterday was “Fed Day” and the U.S. Federal Reserve announced its second 75 basis point interest rate hike in a row. Despite the fastest pace of monetary tightening in a generation, markets rallied after Chair Jerome Powell’s presser. On today’s episode, NLW explains why so many in the market interpreted the Fed’s Q&A as dovish, and...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Chainalysis and FTX US.   U.S. President Joe Biden is slated to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. In the background lurks growing tensions around House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan next month. On today’s episode, NLW looks at the big issues behind these headlines that are shaping both the U.S. and China’s response to g...