The Breakdown

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR and FTX US.  One of the key themes in the bitcoin (BTC) and crypto industry in 2022 is engagement from governments and the key financial institutions of the existing monetary system. Today, NLW examines two different approaches to how to engage with crypto, both on display last week. On the one hand was the International Monetary Fund pressuring Argentina...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR and FTX US.  On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads:   Why We Need Crypto Payments to Work - JP Koning Matt Taibbi, PayPal's Deplatforming and the Case for Crypto - Daniel Kuhn - Nexo is a secure crypto exchange and crypto lending platform. Buy 40+ hot coins with your bank card in seconds and swap between exclusive pairs for cashback. Earn up to 17...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR and FTX US.  It’s only been a year since people were able to mint a bored looking ape NFT for about $200. But in that year, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club has recruited celebrities, raised hundreds of millions of dollars, acquired the IP of other key NFTs, launched its own cryptocurrency, and most recently, sold plots of virtual land for its...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR and FTX US.  In today’s interview, NLW talks with Vance Spencer, co-founder of Framework Ventures and Framework Labs, about DeFi, crypto investing, the social disruption of play-to-earn, blockchain gaming and disruption everywhere.    Find our guest on Twitter: @pythianism  - Nexo is a secure crypto exchange and crypto lending platform. Buy 40+ hot coins...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR and FTX US.  Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at this week’s FOMC meeting. The Fed increased the Federal Funds Rate target by the anticipated 50 basis points, but most of the discussion was about comments from Jerome Powell that the Fed wasn’t even considering a 75bps hike. So was this meeting dovish or hawkish? - Nexo is a secure crypto exchange and c...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR and FTX US.  Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at a set of stories relating to crypto’s place in the political discourse, including: SEC increasing enforcement staff  Bitcoin Mining Council letter to the EPA Ohio’s entirely pro-crypto Senate primary    - Nexo is a secure crypto exchange and crypto lending platform. Buy 40+ hot coins with your bank card...

  This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR and FTX US.  On today’s episode, NLW previews the upcoming Fed meeting through the lens of a CNBC interview with billionaire hedge funder Paul Tudor Jones. Jones characterized this as one of the most challenging times for the Fed in its history and said that it’s an unbelievably bad time for financial assets. The founder of Tudor Investment also discuss...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR and FTX US.  In the short term, crypto is firmly a part of the larger macro cycle driven by the Fed’s fight against inflation. In the long term, however, there is much evidence that the market downturn won’t be anything like the crypto winter of 2018-2019. NLW explores the funding and events of the past month that tell the story of these two different cry...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, NEAR and FTX US.  Today on “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads Balaji Srinivasan’s “The Elondrop.”  - Nexo is a secure crypto exchange and crypto lending platform. Buy 40+ hot coins with your bank card in seconds and swap between exclusive pairs for cashback. Earn up to 17% interest on your idle crypto assets and borrow against them for instant liquidity. Simple an...

  This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.  On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at the surprise GDP decline in the U.S., as well as wraps up other stories from the macro environment, regulatory sphere and around institutional adoption. - From cash to crypto in no time with Nexo. Invest in hot coins and swap between exclusive pairs for cash back, earn up to 17% interes...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.  Bill Hwang is no stranger to law enforcement around financial crimes. In 2012 he settled an insider trading and market manipulation case involving Chinese stocks. Last year, he jumped back in the headlines after his family office, Archegos, completely imploded, ultimately leading to $10 billion of losses for brokerages including Nomura and...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.  Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at the institutional side of the crypto industry, focusing on:  A fascinating new sentiment survey from Bitstamp Fidelity’s plans to add bitcoin to 401(k) plans  Goldman Sachs exploring financial asset tokens  Dragonfly raises $650 million with concentration of endowments    - From cash to crypto in no t...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.  It’s another global crypto adoption and regulation roundup, led by confirmation that the Central African Republic is moving to make bitcoin legal tender, alongside the CFA franc. NLW looks at why this is significant in a historical, postcolonial context. The show also covers legislation moving ahead in Brazil, a Buenos Aires initiative tha...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.  Elon Musk is officially buying Twitter. In today’s show, NLW argues that the debate and discussion around the move is largely focused on content moderation policies, when the more fundamental issue is the relationship of the advertising business model to what the algorithm prioritizes. Does Musk have the long-term view and the willingness...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.  On today’s episode, NLW digs into rumors that the Central African Republic has adopted bitcoin as legal tender. He also looks at Panama’s crypto legislation, which has moved forward out of committee. Overall, he explores the state of the nation-state adoption narrative of bitcoin and crypto.    - From cash to crypto in no time with Nexo. I...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.    On this edition of “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads: Cannabis and Crypto - Brett Harrison Bitcoin is boring? - Jurrien Timmer  Morgan Stanley on Lightning - Alex Gladstein    - From cash to crypto in no time with Nexo. Invest in hot coins and swap between exclusive pairs for cash back, earn up to 17% interest on your idle crypto assets and...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.    On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at: Bitcoin spot ETF optimism in the U.S. Australian spot ETFs coming next week Coinbase’s new NFT features  Stripe adding crypto payouts    - From cash to crypto in no time with Nexo. Invest in hot coins and swap between exclusive pairs for cash back, earn up to 17% interest on your idle...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.    Housing prices around the country are up 19.2% this year, and 30% since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Videos of desperate couples and families lining up for open houses have become mainstays of social media. In today’s episode, NLW gives a primer on what’s going on and why the roots of the problem go back to the Global Finan...

  This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.    Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW covers two topics. First, he looks at a new Chainalysis report on which countries realized the biggest crypto gains in 2021, and specifically how that list differs from the rank of countries by GDP. Second, he looks at new sanctions on mining firm BitRiver and what it means for the geopolitics of bitcoin m...

  This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.  On today’s episode, NLW examines what he is calling “Crypto’s Liminal Phase.” He argues the crypto industry specifically and the macroeconomic landscape as a whole are in a transitional phase. In terms of crypto, he points to a transitory market cycle, regulatory discourse and mass adoption cycle as examples.  - From cash to crypto in no...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.    On today’s episode, NLW looks at the latest Financial Stability report from the International Monetary Fund. The report looks at how the war in Ukraine is impacting financial stability. NLW argues that it sends mixed messages on crypto – arguing that the war highlights a set of new risks arising from cryptocurrencies while also recognizi...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.    Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW explores the growing chorus of economists who think the U.S. is headed towards a recession as the inevitable consequence of the Federal Reserve’s attempt to fight inflation. He also looks at the growing discourse around whether we’re headed toward a staflagtionary period of high inflation and low economic gr...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.  On this edition of “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads Michael Casey’s “No, DeFi Is Not a Repeat of the 2008 Crisis.” - From cash to crypto in no time with Nexo. Invest in hot coins and swap between exclusive pairs for cash back, earn up to 17% interest on your idle crypto assets and borrow against them for instant liquidity. Simple and secure....

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.  The Elon Musk-Twitter saga continues! Today, Musk announced an offer to buy 100% of Twitter at $54.20 a share, saying that it was important for free speech and the company needed to be taken private to undergo necessary changes. NLW explores reactions to the announcement, from those who think a Twitter under Musk would be a huge boon to fr...

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Arculus and FTX US.  On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW explores whether large firms – either from traditional finance or big tech – can be good actors in the Web 3 space? He specifically explores BlackRock’s Circle investment, Meta’s fee announcement and Epic Games’ new funding to build its own metaverse.  - From cash to crypto in no time with Nexo. I...