

The Breakdown
Blockworks
A daily analysis of macroeconomics, bitcoin, geopolitics and big picture power shifts, hosted by Nathaniel Whittemore @nlw. The Breakdown is part of Blockworks.Subscribe to The Breakdown newsletter: https://the-breakdown.carrd.co/
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 10, 2021 • 10min
So, Is This a Bitcoin Supercycle or What?
On this week’s “Weekly Recap,” NLW digs into the theory of the bitcoin supercycle. Are we in the same sort of four-year, halving-driven, boom-bust cycle that has characterized bitcoin so far, or are the new institutional participants breaking us out of that in a fundamental way? -- Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io -- 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_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M= Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

Apr 10, 2021 • 13min
Liberty Mutual and State Street Are the Latest Institutions to Join the Bitcoin Party
Today on the Brief: Crypto Climate Accord Robinhood crypto trading The decentralization of venture capital Our main discussion: This week was absolutely chock-full of institutions getting into the bitcoin space, yet barely anyone noticed. From Liberty Mutual and Starr Insurance investing in NYDIG to a massive real estate company moving treasury into bitcoin and accepting it for rent, the institutional infiltration of bitcoin shows no signs of stopping. -- Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io -- 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_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M= Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

Apr 9, 2021 • 21min
Is Bitcoin a Chinese Financial Weapon? Peter Thiel Ignites a Geopolitical Debate
Peter Thiel is nothing if not good at igniting controversy. For the last 24 hours or so, Bitcoin Twitter (and really, FinTwit and TechTwit and Politics Twitter as well) have been hotly debating his assertion in recent remarks that bitcoin had become a “Chinese financial weapon.” In today’s episode, NLW breaks down: The debate around Thiel’s comments Why bitcoin is more likely a threat to Chinese aspirations around the digital yuan’s future status as a global currency than the U.S. dollar Why digital dollars like tether and USDC might make this whole debate moot from the get-go -- Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io -- 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_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M= Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

Apr 8, 2021 • 15min
$400,000 Bitcoin in 2021? The Best of Bloomberg's Latest Bullish Bitcoin Report
Today on the Brief: Coinbase’s monster Q1 numbers 150 million evaporate from the global middle class Jamie Dimon’s shareholder letter comments on crypto Our main discussion: Bloomberg’s latest crypto outlook is out. In this episode, NLW looks at seven aspects of the report: Bitcoin as digital reserve asset in a low-yield world Price support at $50,000 Price possibilities of $400,000 in 2021 Gold replacement happening more quickly than anticipated Growth in publicly traded companies with crypto exposure Exchange outflows The supremacy of USD digital currencies -- Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io -- 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_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M= Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

Apr 7, 2021 • 18min
From Dinosaur Altcoins to the Kimchi Premium, 13 Numbers That Tell The Story of Markets Right Now
On today’s episode, NLW provides a whistle stop tour of some of the most interesting and illuminating numbers from crypto and traditional markets, including: The pop in Jurassic Park altcoins Archegos fallout US vaccine distribution Outflows from Turkey SPAC performance before and after mergers Decline in price and volume of NFTs Coinbase valuation Stablecoin transaction volume And more! -- Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io -- 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_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M= Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

Apr 6, 2021 • 16min
How Will the Coinbase IPO Affect Bitcoin's Price?
Today on the Brief: The 88th anniversary of Executive Order 6102 Former SEC Jay Clayton on bitcoin regulations GBTC intends to become an ETF Our main discussion: NLW breaks down the potential implications of the Coinbase IPO. He looks at the bullish arguments of mainstream presence, the potential to send people down a bitcoin rabbit hole and the provisioning of easy on-ramps versus the argument that it will give people a chance to get crypto industry exposure without actually holding bitcoin or other crypto assets. -- Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io -- 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_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M= Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

Apr 4, 2021 • 9min
The Future of Bitcoin Lies with Renegades and Malcontents
On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads CoinDesk journalist Brady Dale’s “Don’t Follow the Suits, Follow the Weirdos.” NLW argues this topic is even more important in the context of bitcoin institutionalization. -- Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io -- 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_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M= Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

Apr 3, 2021 • 9min
For Bitcoin and Crypto, a Week of Mainstreaming Moments
On this edition of “The Breakdown” Weekly Recap, NLW looks at a set of mainstream moments including: “SNL” doing a song about NFTs Visa accepting USDC on Ethereum as a native settlement currency PayPal opening crypto checkout to 29 million merchants Goldman Sachs opening bitcoin investment programs Chipotle’s “bitcoin and burritos” promotion -- Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io -- 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_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M= Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

Apr 2, 2021 • 1h 19min
An Interview With Cathie Wood on Bitcoin, Tesla and Innovation Investing
This episode is a replay of NLW’s conversation with Cathie Wood from October 2020. In it, they discuss: Why she had conviction in Tesla before the market caught up Why her fund offered the first bitcoin investment opportunities to Wall Street Why it doesn’t hire traditional Wall Street analysts Why it gives away all research for free Why it shares the trades made in a completely open-source way ARK’s recent Bitcoin Investment Thesis white paper What the prospects are for innovation in 2021 Find our guest online: Twitter: @CathieDWood
Web: ark-invest.com This episode is a replay of NLW’s conversation with Cathie Wood from October 2020. In it, they discuss: Why she had conviction in Tesla before the market caught up Why her fund offered the first bitcoin investment opportunities to Wall Street Why it doesn’t hire traditional Wall Street analysts Why it gives away all research for free Why it shares the trades made in a completely open-source way ARK’s recent Bitcoin Investment Thesis white paper What the prospects are for innovation in 2021 Find our guest online: Twitter: @CathieDWood
Web: ark-invest.com

Apr 2, 2021 • 18min
Corruption, Leverage and Cheap Money: Archegos and the Fastest Loss of Wealth in History
The financial world has been rocked by the Archegos scandal. A family office managing at least $10 billion and betting with $50 billion-$80 billion on leverage that was completely undone, literally overnight. In this episode, NLW breaks down: Bill Hwang’s origins in Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management Hwang’s conviction for insider trading How Hwang leveraged his fund’s performance to get off prime broker blacklists Why Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and others decided to margin call Archegos last week What the whole affair says about markets today -- Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io -- 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_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M= Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com


