The Breakdown

On this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW diverts from our normal opinion and long-form essay to pursue Grayscale’s recent investor reports. In its survey of investors, Grayscale found more interest in bitcoin investing than ever before, with a significant amount of the growth in interest being driven by economic and monetary policy following the coronavirus pandemic. scribd.com/document/481729535/Grayscale-2020-Bitcoin-Investor-Study   

On this week’s weekly recap, NLW looks at: Bitcoin’s resilience in the face of a week where many investors went risk off, causing a drop in stocks and gold JPMorgan’s dramatic three-year attitude shift around bitcoin and crypto  Iran stockpiling bitcoin to be able to pay for imports A new round of COVID-19 lockdowns and the stimulus that will follow

One of the most powerful aspects of bitcoin is its mythology.  In this episode, NLW explores the 12th anniversary of the Bitcoin white paper and the choices that went into its release date.  Whether it was something to do with the Reformation or an allusion to the longstanding pagan tradition of Samhain, the one thing that’s clear is the choice adds all the more mystique to bitcoin’s incredible origins.

Today on the Brief: FTX launches equities trading  Avanti gets Wyoming bank charter France locks down and ECB intimates new stimulus Our main discussion: GDP growth report  The Department of Commerce released its Q3 GDP numbers. Touted as record growth, this is actually a much more complicated story. In this episode, NLW breaks down what the numbers tell us and what they don’t, and why we should be more focused on understanding long-term consumer behavior shifts than short-term numbers. 

Today on the Brief: Section 230 hearing with social media CEOs in Washington D.C. Bitwise now has more than $100 million AUM Trump website defaced with Monero request Our main discussion: Markets go risk-off.  With rising fear of COVID-19 lockdowns, everything from stocks to oil to gold and, yes, even bitcoin is down on the day. The important question is whether this is a short-term volatility phenomenon or part of a larger systemic shift.

Today on the Brief: Stocks down; bitcoin up Consumer confidence shaky as baking supplies demand grows 3,400% Bank for International Settlements and Swiss central bank to test CBDC this year Our main discussion: JPM Coin.  Initially announced in February 2019, JPMorgan’s JPM Coin is being launched for commercial use. In this episode, NLW looks at: The history of private currencies in the U.S. Why Libra was a starting gun for both governments and other private corporations How JPMorgan intends to make money from JPM Coin Why other investment banks might follow

Today on the Brief: Turkey’s real inflation rate 3x official number Hot new DeFi protocol Harvest Financial hacked Bitcoin whales hit largest number since 2016 Our main conversation is about the rise of a new wave of COVID-19 and the economic fallout we’re still trying to address. NLW discusses why we’re starting this next wave more emotionally drained, politically divided and economically fragile than we were in March.

For this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads two selections from CoinDesk’s op-ed section: CBDCs Are Evolution, not Revolution - Benoit Coeure  The US Risks Getting Left Behind on CBDCs - JP Schnapper-Casteras & Misha Guttentag

On this week’s Breakdown weekly recap, NLW looks at: The initial price action that started the week Debates about whether BTC was thriving at the expense of alts and DeFi The PayPal news News of more public companies putting treasury reserves into BTC Paul Tudor Jones’ optimistic take on the human ingenuity driving bitcoin’s success

Today on the Brief: DOJ crypto enforcement a “disaster” for privacy Ant’s blockchain tools pre-IPO Better news around jobless claims  Our main discussion: fiat failures, 2020 edition.  In this episode, NLW looks at a raft of geographies in which bitcoin has recently reached all-time highs, priced in the local currency. The story, he says, is about fiats floundering more than mispriced local bitcoin.  Special focus on economic happenings in Brazil, Argentina and Turkey.