The Breakdown

  This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.   This week’s Long Reads Sunday is a reading of Dan Jeffries’ “The Future of Money: A History.”  - NYDIG, the institutional-grade platform for bitcoin, is making it possible for thousands of banks who have trusted relationships with hundreds of millions of customers, to offer Bitcoin. Learn more at NYDIG.com/NLW. Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podca...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.   On this edition of “The Breakdown Weekly Recap,” NLW covers: The latest jobs report and what it means for Fed policy Comments from SEC Chair Gensler and a House crypto hearing next week The latest institutional bitcoin news from Fidelity and Goldman Sachs    - NYDIG, the institutional-grade platform for bitcoin, is making it possible for thousands of banks who...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. As part of CoinDesk’s Future of Money week, they asked some of crypto’s biggest brains for their predictions on the future of money. In today’s episode, NLW goes one by one through those predictions, saying whether he agrees or disagrees and why.  Read the original: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/11/29/the-future-of-money-20-predictions/ NYDIG, the insti...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. On today’s episode, NLW breaks down investor Travis Kling’s recap of the biggest events in crypto from the month of November. He says two trends are huge capital raises and a focus on NFTs and the metaverse. Both, he suggests, make the crypto markets more resilient to future downturns.  Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.a...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. On today’s episode, NLW does a retrospective of Facebook’s libra project, which was renamed late last year to diem. He argues that, whatever happens with diem specifically, it has a place in the historical record as the starting gun for a new era in stablecoins and central bank digital currencies. Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https:/...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. On today’s episode of ”The Breakdown,” NLW follows up on Twitter’s leadership change, covering a new privacy policy that some are saying has big implications for the platform. He also looks at Sen. Sherrod Brown’s letter to stablecoin issuers from last week and discusses Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before t...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. On today’s episode, NLW looks at two topics. The first is the market crash that left bitcoin down 8.5% on Friday, only to partially recover over the weekend. NLW looks at the combination of macro factors – led by the Omicron COVID-19 variant – that may or may not have contributed to the turbulence. Second, he looks at the announcement that Jack Dorsey is steppin...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW draws from two threads by @punk6529 on Twitter: On a Pathway to an Open Metaverse On America and Crypto   NYDIG, the institutional-grade platform for bitcoin, is making it possible for thousands of banks who have trusted relationships with hundreds of millions of customers, to offer Bitcoin. Learn more at NYDIG.com/NLW. En...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. On the final part of his three-part miniseries “Gratitude for Bitcoin,” NLW is joined by Stillmark’s Alyse Killeen, a venture capitalist focused entirely on the bitcoin ecosystem. Alyse explains how remarkable it was that bitcoin was ready for nationwide adoption in El Salvador and gives a preview on what she thinks is coming to the network in 2022.  Find Alyse...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. On part 2 of NLW’s three-part “Gratitude for Bitcoin” miniseries, he’s joined by serial bitcoin entrepreneur and Kraken’s director of growth marketing, Dan Held. Dan discusses the changes happening as bitcoin goes mainstream and argues that this sort of change is inevitable.  Find Dan Held on Twitter: @danheld NYDIG, the institutional-grade platform for bitcoin,...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. Today, NLW kicks off his “Gratitude for Bitcoin” three-part miniseries with Bitcoin Magazine and UTXO Management bitcoin analyst Dylan LeClair.  Find Dylan on Twitter: @DylanLeClair_ NYDIG, the institutional-grade platform for bitcoin, is making it possible for thousands of banks who have trusted relationships with hundreds of millions of customers, to offer Bit...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. This week, after months of speculation, President Joe Biden has named Jerome Powell to a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. His most likely alternate, Lael Brainard, was promoted to vice chairwoman. On today’s episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at why full employment remains at the centerpiece of the Fed agenda even as the nominations herald a narrative...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. Today on “The Breakdown,” a check in on El Salvador, where President Nayib Bukele has just announced “Bitcoin City,” a new community that will feature no income or capital gains tax and be designed to attract talent from around the world. The effort is being funded in part by a $1 billion bond that some are calling the “Volcano Bond.” The bond will be tokenized...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. In today’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW goes back to read excerpts from two Nic Carter pieces that seem particularly prescient today, as the U.S. weighs the opportunities and risks of stablecoins.  Policymakers Shouldn't Fear Digital Money: So Far It's Maintaining the Dollar's Status The Crypto-Dollar Surge and the American Opportunity NYDIG, the institutional-grade p...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. Description From $400 million to a crypto exchange to $2.5 billion for the biggest crypto fund in history, NLW tells the story of this week’s big fundraising events by the numbers.  NYDIG, the institutional-grade platform for bitcoin, is making it possible for thousands of banks who have trusted relationships with hundreds of millions of customers, to offer Bitc...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. Last night the crypto community waited with bated breath to see who had won the first printing of the U.S. Constitution. Despite raising over $40 million from 17,000 people, the ConstitutionDAO was ultimately outbid. In this episode, NLW discusses how the DAO came together, how the bidding went down and how the community should feel about its near miss.  NYDIG,...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. Yesterday’s show was a global regulatory roundup, but today’s is all about the U.S. The Joint Economic Committee held an event this week all about “Demystifying Crypto.” In this episode, NLW looks at: The overall shift in tone in government crypto hearings  The specific questions and topics that JEC members asked The beginnings of a partisan hardening of the cry...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. On today’s episode, NLW does a whistle-stop tour of global crypto regulatory news, including: India – set to ban crypto as payment but regulated as asset?  Israel – might new AML rules make it easier for banks to work with crypto providers? Sweden – disagreement on mining politics Russia – a new source of global power?  Indonesia – is bitcoin haram?  As well as...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. Bitcoin has been on a journey over the last 24 hours, from nearly $65,000 all the way down to $58,000 and everywhere in between. On today’s episode, NLW explores what’s driving it, including:  Leveraged traders left over from last week’s all-time high Twitter CFO saying no investments in crypto President Biden signing the U.S. infrastructure bill with crypto bro...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. On Thursday, Nov. 18th, Sotheby’s is auctioning off one of just 13 (or 11, depending on your source) copies of the original edition of the U.S. Constitution, printed in September 1787 for distribution to members of the Continental Congress and the states that would need to debate and ratify the document. It’s the first time the document has been for sale in a th...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. On this edition of “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads two pieces: “Why Shouldn’t the Navajo Mine Bitcoin?” by William Foxley  “This Imprisoned Russian Artist Is Selling NFTs to Support His Family and Fellow Inmates” by Anna Baydakova NYDIG, the institutional-grade platform for bitcoin, is making it possible for thousands of banks who have trusted relationships with...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. On this edition of “The Breakdown Weekly Recap,” NLW follows up on the story about the politics of bitcoin with an SEC commissioner’s recent essay on decentralized finance (DeFi). He also looks at the forthcoming Taproot upgrade, and how it may coincide with plans from the newest division of Square - TBD - to announce bitcoin DeFi plans.  NYDIG, the institutiona...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.   On today’s episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at how bitcoin’s place in the political dialogue in the United States has changed dramatically over the years. He argues 2021 will be remembered as the year politicians started taking the industry seriously. The episode features a thread from Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Morgan Harper: https://twitter.com/mh4oh/st...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. Yesterday was quite the day. A 6.2% inflation print led to a new bitcoin all-time high. Within hours, however, BTC’s price crashed 10% on an overall risk-off move in markets. That was precipitated by rumors that China’s Evergrande was about to default on its debts. NLW argues that the moves show how market structure and macro realities impact bitcoin.  NYDIG, th...

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. New statistics show a 6.2% rise in the consumer price index (CPI) year over year for October. On today’s episode, NLW breaks down the news, discussing: How the 2020 inflation debate set up the current bitcoin bull run  The debate around “transitory” inflation in 2021  How the inflation debate is impacting U.S. politics  Why bitcoin is achieving new all-time high...