The Breakdown

David covers three Wednesday stories: Coinbase laying off 14% of staff, a16z Crypto raising $2.2 billion, and Strategy losing $12.5 billion as CEO Phong Le floats selling bitcoin. We also unpack the AI-first layoff narrative, the potential return of the infra supercycle ($6B+ raised across crypto VCs in 2026), and why a Cambrian explosion of DATs and ETFs might absorb whatever Saylor has to offloa...

David runs through three Monday morning stories: the viral Clavicular clip with Polymarket’s CMO, the CLARITY Act’s compromise on stablecoin yield, and MegaETH’s adoption numbers a week into its points campaign. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:06) Clavicular and Polymarket CMO (09:20) Nexo Ad (09:57) CLARITY Act Update (15:03) Nexo Ad (15:54) MegaETH Performance FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.c...

DeFi just raised $302 million to cover losses from the Kelp DAO hack. David calls it what it is: a bailout. David runs through four stories from the week — MegaETH, DeFi United, Meta’s stablecoin payouts, and the Blockworks rebrand. We unpack why MegaETH’s points campaign is the 2021 playbook in 2026, why stablecoin income doesn’t equal crypto adoption, and what happens when the house money runs o...

North Korea has had IT workers embedded in DeFi protocols since DeFi Summer — and they’re pretty good devs. Nick Bax, blockchain investigator and SEAL 911 incident responder, joins us to break down how crypto crime has evolved from SIM swaps to nation-state social engineering. We unpack the Monero inflation bug, Arbitrum’s 9/12 multisig gold standard, how DPRK workers now use facilitators to rent...

Someone guessed Anthropic’s Mythos URL, gained unauthorized access to the most hyped AI model in history, and used it to build websites. David covers three stories from the week: the Mythos breach, a Tether scam in the Strait of Hormuz, and DoorDash’s stablecoin announcement. We unpack why Project Glasswing looks like marketing by association, how scammers are demanding Bitcoin and Tether for Horm...

Crypto might be the world’s best test bed for AI trading — and Virtuals Protocol is running the experiment live. Weekee Tiew, co-founder of Virtuals Protocol, joins us to explain Degen Claw, their AI Council judging system, and why agents will soon replace wallets. We unpack why pure P&L is the wrong benchmark, how the trench agent concept could reshape portfolio management, and what crypto’s role...

Trump's Fed pick has 30-plus crypto investments — and that's just what he could disclose. David walks through Warsh's filing, a Polymarket bot built on the theory that nothing ever happens, and Hollywood's Craig Wright blockbuster. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction (00:21) Trying Something New (02:47) Kevin Warsh (08:58) Nexo Ad (09:34) Nothing Ever Happens Polymarket Bot (18:47) Nexo Ad (19:38) Th...

AI is reprogramming the social fabric — and nobody can agree whether that’s a good thing. Kevin O’Leary, investor and entrepreneur, joins us to share his framework for navigating the AI era across investing, data centers, and crypto. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction (01:33) One Shot, One Opportunity (03:20) Two Wolves (06:02) Nexo Ad (06:36) Interview with Kevin O’Leary (08:56) Datacenters as a Po...

x402 just got a lot bigger. The Linux Foundation is now backing it — and maybe Amazon, Google, Stripe, Mastercard, and American Express along with them. In this episode, David sits down with Jordan Liu, co-founder of AIsa — one of earliest builders in the x402 ecosystem, with over 20 million microtransactions already processed. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction (01:42) What AISA Builds (02:55) X40...

AI agents are coming online fast — and the payment rails for that world are being built right now. David breaks down the race between Coinbase’s x402 and Stripe’s Machine Payments Protocol, the rise of agentic commerce, and why crypto may have a natural edge, before sitting down with Jordan Liu of AIsa. __ TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:30) Tool Time (03:45) AI-doption (05:48) Nexo Ad (06:30) When...

While The Breakdown is between seasons, we’re bringing some of our favorite conversations from across Blockworks onto the feed. In this episode of Forward Guidance, Felix Jauvin sits down with Fed Governor Stephen Miran at DAS to discuss why he believes inflation fears are overstated, why the Fed may still be too restrictive, and how AI, deregulation, and stablecoins could all shape the future of...

While The Breakdown is between seasons, we’re sharing a panel from Digital Assets Summit featuring the team behind Inflection Point. The conversation explores how investors should think about crypto valuations, what gives L1s value, and why there’s still no shared framework for pricing blockchain networks. – Follow Blockworks Research: https://x.com/blockworksres Follow Inflection Point: inflectio...

While The Breakdown is between seasons, we’re sharing a panel from Digital Asset Summit hosted by David. The discussion explores how institutions think about on-chain privacy, the tradeoffs involved, and what it takes to bring financial systems onto blockchain infrastructure. – Follow Blockworks Research: https://x.com/blockworksres Follow Patrick: https://x.com/_patrickogrady Follow Yannik: https...

In this special episode, we introduce Blockworks’ new investor relations platform for onchain businesses. As institutional capital continues to enter crypto markets, expectations around transparency, standardization, and professionalism are rising. But instead of replicating legacy systems, Blockworks IR takes a different approach, leveraging real-time, onchain data to create a more transparent, d...

While The Breakdown is between seasons, we’re sharing the full version of a past conversation with Nick Almond. The discussion explores how to think about crypto networks, why common metrics can be misleading, and what actually matters when evaluating activity and value. Follow Blockworks Research: https://x.com/blockworksres Follow Nick: https://x.com/DrNickA Follow David: https://x.com/dcanellis...

While The Breakdown is between seasons, we’re sharing a recent episode of Forward Guidance. Felix is joined by Bob Elliott to break down how oil shocks impact inflation, growth, and central bank policy—and why markets may be underestimating the risks. As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not fi...

As a new season of The Breakdown approaches, David takes a moment to introduce himself and explain how he thinks about Bitcoin, crypto culture, and the industry’s next phase. – Follow David: https://x.com/dcanellis — Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ — Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:04) My Crypto...

Marc Arjoon joins the show to discuss how institutional flows, ETF market structure, and the changing economics of Bitcoin mining are reshaping the market. As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice. – Follow Blockworks Research: https://x.com/blockworksres Follow Marc: https://x...

From miners to institutional buyers, David breaks down why Bitcoin’s halving cycle may still shape the market — even if the supply shock itself is fading. Plus, a conversation with Marc Arjoon. As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice. – Follow Blockworks Research: https://x.co...

How should crypto tokens be valued? Haseeb Qureshi breaks down why cash-flow rights won’t “fix” prices, and how AI agents transacting on-chain could drive the next wave of demand. As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice. – Follow Blockworks Research: https://x.com/blockworksre...

In this first episode of Inflection Point, we explore the accelerating convergence between traditional finance and crypto as institutional adoption begins reshaping the foundations of global financial infrastructure. The conversation examines ETFs, DeFi innovation, market structure shifts, institutional flows, and how evolving investor behavior is changing Bitcoin and digital asset markets. Along...

Are retail investors just exit liquidity? We unpack the token premium, forced price discovery, and what Ethereum and Tron data reveals about when fundamentals actually matter. Featuring insights from Haseeb Qureshi of Dragonfly. As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice. – Follo...

Crypto and fintech are converging. But who captures the value? Nick Almond on stablecoins, DAOs, and the future of capital formation. As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice. – Follow Blockworks Research: https://x.com/blockworksres Follow Nick: https://x.com/DrNickA Follow Da...

With no clear external enemy left, crypto may be facing its next antagonist: fintech. This episode explores whether crypto is winning — or being domesticated. Plus, a conversation with Nick Almond. As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice. – Follow Blockworks Research: https://...

Daniel Shapiro joins to break down why AI and crypto may be destined to converge — from agent payments and identity to privacy, data markets, and the next big investable primitive. Thanks for tuning in! As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice. – Follow Blockworks Research: htt...