The Breakdown

Today on the Brief: A shifting inflation narrative Reddit raises $250M and has a $6B valuation  Castle Island Ventures announces $50M fund II  Our main discussion: Might Apple by the next company to dive into bitcoin?  In the wake of Tesla’s surprise $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase announcement, many are wondering which Fortune 500 will be next.  According to a new report from the Royal Bank of Canada - the country’s largest bank with more than C$800 billion in assets - the best candidate may be Apple.  In this episode, NLW breaks down: Why the RBC thinks Apple should build a crypto exchange How a BTC treasury purchase could fund it Why the crypto exchange space and the bitcoin treasury movement are both white-hot topics of discussion right now -- 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

Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) has purchased $1.5 billion in bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset. Additionally, the company will soon be allowing people to pay for Teslas with bitcoin.  In this episode, NLW breaks down: How Elon got to this moment, including his exchanges with MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) Michael Saylor What critics of the Tesla community and the bitcoin community are likely to say  How this de-risks bitcoin purchases for other Fortune 500 companies  How it relates to Elon’s doge memeing  Why this is likely to have a significant impact on bitcoin’s narrative regarding climate change and energy use  Why Cathie Wood is laughing all the way to the bank. -- 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

On this edition of Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads Ben Hunt’s latest essay “Hunger Games” about the lies of Wall Street and how the GameStop episode has exposed them for all to see. 

On this edition of The Breakdown’s weekly recap, NLW discusses: The state of WallStreetBets The Bitcoin for Corporations event ETH all-time highs in advance of CME ETH futures Tether Cynthia Lummis on the Senate Banking Committee -- 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

On today’s episode, NLW is joined by Travis Kling, co-founder and chief investment officer of Ikigai Asset Management. They discuss: GameStop, WallStreetBets and financial populism Whether regulatory hearings will actually address any issues around retail investors  How WallStreetBets relates to bitcoin The rise of institutional investors  The end of career risk around bitcoin for investment professionals Why recent bitcoin FUD has been disingenuous How investors can price risk in bitcoin  Where DeFi fits for institutional investors -- 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

Today on the Brief: Elon Musk back to DOGE trolling Bank of England says to prepare for negative interest rates Janet Yellen on “Good Morning America” discussing retail investors Our main discussion: What did we learn about PayPal’s crypto strategy from its quarterly earnings report?  In this episode, NLW breaks down: How PayPal’s perspective on crypto evolved What we learned about the success of its offering in Q4 2020 What’s next for crypto at PayPal in 2021 Why its biggest play is squarely focused on central bank 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

Today on the Brief: An update on Ant and Jack Ma Bezos stepping down as CEO of Amazon  Miami’s play to become a crypto hub Our main discussion: MicroStrategy’s “Bitcoin for Corporations” event  Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy opened a new category of bitcoin investment last year when the company moved hundreds of millions of dollars of cash reserves into bitcoin.  For the next two days, the company is hosting a virtual conference designed to help the 1,400 corporate leader attendees discover the playbook that allowed them to make the dramatic move that has paid off so well.  In this episode, NLW examines the current state of institutional investment in crypto and asks what this event says about what might be coming next.    -- 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

WallStreetBets is having a rough day. Its stocks are crashing. Champions from as recently as last week are selling out. More brokerage apps are turning off buying.  In this episode, NLW explores what it means for this set of assets and the larger shift in power from institutional to retail investors.  He argues, ultimately, that over the last year retail traders of the type led by WSB have established themselves as too powerful a force for the market to simply turn away from now. -- 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

Today on the Brief: Elon Musk talks bitcoin on Clubhouse India trying to ban crypto? DEXs have best month ever in January  Our main discussion: Has WallStreetBets been infiltrated by hedge funds?  Reddit community WallStreetBets became headline news last week when its short squeeze of GameStop (GME) nearly brought a famed hedge fund to its knees. According to Twitter personalities and the mainstream media, the community has now turned its focus to squeezing silver.  Except, one cursory look at the subreddit shows that isn’t the case. Instead, it is full of posts about how hedge funds and media are trying to promote the silver story to distract and divide the community.  In this episode, NLW tries to break down what’s happening and argues that now that WSB has become a market force, these sort of attempts to influence its conversation are going to become de rigeur.  -- 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

Today’s “Long Reads Sunday” is a reading of Ray Dalio’s recent LinkedIn post, “What I Really Think of Bitcoin.” In his interpretation, NLW argues the post shows Dalio and Bridgewater are at the beginning of a deep dive into the space.  -- 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