The Breakdown

The podcast discusses the potential resurgence of Bitcoin as a payment utility in 2020 through Lightning applications. It also explores the growth of derivatives in the crypto market, with CoinFLEX and ErisX making significant moves. The announcement of a holiday bonus in Petro for public employees in Venezuela raises questions about digital currencies as a tool of control.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde’s comments on stable coins flew around crypto Twitter yesterday, as she said projects in the space indicated clear demand (even while slighting bitcoin in the same statement). Meanwhile, two once hugely hyped projects - Orchid and Filecoin - have both resurfaced. What might this mean for the narrative of tokens going into 2020? Lastly, in her end of year piece for CoinDesk, Jill Carlson triggered an avalanche of commentary by arguing that crypto isn’t supposed to be mainstream, because its primary use case is to for censored transactions. 

The last few days have seen significant regulatory action, from SEC charging Shopin’s CEO with fraud over a $42m ICO to a major coordinated federal action against a $722m crypto Ponzi scheme. Over in the world of decentralized finance, meanwhile, a new project aims to show DeFi isn’t just for Ethereum. Finally, Twitter is launching a Square Crypto-like skunkworks to support or create an open social media protocol. This and more on The Breakdown.

Three stories about tokenization today: ShapeShift launching FOX (an exchange token); BlockTV launching a token for media contributions; Satoshi's Treasure helping Tezos distribute tokens through games. That's enough to get me curious and thinking about tokens in a historical context: the promise, the problems, and the latest.  Watch: https://www.youtube.com/nathanielwhittemorecrypto

After a huge amount of work, MakerDAO's multi-collateral DAI is live. Only one new token (Brave's BAT) is in the ecosystem, but it heralds the beginning of a new era. In the world of privacy coins, the MimbleWimble protocol is pushing back against a theoretical attack that some say invalidate its privacy features. Finally, Gemini makes its first acquisition.  Watch: https://www.youtube.com/nathanielwhittemorecrypto

11 years ago today, on Halloween 2008, Satoshi shared the bitcoin whitepaper for the first time. The question is: why choose that date? Satoshi was extremely intentional, so it seems unlikely to be random. In this, we explore multiple explanations, including historical analogy to the Protestant Reformation as well as symbolic connection to Samhain/All Saints Day. Ultimately, we conclude that what matters is the fact that the myth-making enabled by Satoshi's departure from the scene is one of the most remarkable and unique attributes of bitcoin.  Watch: https://www.youtube.com/nathanielwhittemorecrypto

Today was a quick news briefing: Bitmain power struggles as Jihan Wu pulls a coup to return China bans anti-blockchain sentiment  Russian crypto intrigue that could confirm the US' worst fears Coinlist raises $10m from Jack Dorsey (among others) The latest Fed action Watch: https://www.youtube.com/nathanielwhittemorecrypto

Times, how they've changed. The surge in bitcoin price and the explosion of China into blockchain has heads spinning. Some argue that we should be celebrating mass adoption of any type. In this audio op-ed, however, I argue that there are two key questions. First is - adoption of what? What is the connection between open, permissionless money networks and an immutable record of a political loyalty pledge? Second, what is the cost of adoption, in moral terms? As the industry ascends, these are key questions to ask now.  Watch: https://www.youtube.com/nathanielwhittemorecrypto

China has had an ongoing role in the crypto narrative. For much of the history of the industry, it was about control of mining. Now, something new is happening. As the crypto industry gets caught up in the larger battles to shape the future of the economic order, digital currency is center spotlight and China is racing into a leadership position. Last week's comments on blockchain from China's President Xi Jinping were like a starting gun. So what's the China narrative now?  Watch: https://www.youtube.com/nathanielwhittemorecrypto

On Wednesday, Zuckerberg responded to the largely hostile US Congress by reminding them that, if the US didn't proactively assert leadership around digital currencies, then China would be more than willing to fill the gap. As if they coordinated it, China's President Xi then made his first formal comments ever about blockchain, asserting that China needed to take a leadership role. Bitcoin soared 15% (although whether related or not isn't clear) and crypto Twitter debated: was this an indication of how far behind the US is getting; an affirmation that blockchain can be a tool of surveillance and control; or both?  Watch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMKxYhVC2lJat7iB9Gec5kw/videos