CoinDesk Podcast Network

Latest Episodes:

BREAKDOWN: Using History as a Weapon - The Latest Political Attack on Stablecoins Jul 25, 2021

Show notes

The U.S. faces a choice between integrating proven stablecoins or outlawing them in favor of a monopolized CBDC.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

On this week’s “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads Nic Carter’s recent essay “Why Central Bankers Invoke Free Banking to Attack Stablecoins.”

NYDIG, the institutional-grade platform for Bitcoin, is making it possible for thousands of banks who have trusted relationships with hundreds of millions of customers, to offer Bitcoin. Learn more at NYDIG.com/NLW.

The Breakdown is written, produced by and features NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “Only in Time” by Abloom. Image credit: tntemerson/iStock/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SOB: Emergent Complexity and Building Systems We Don’t Understand Jul 24, 2021

Show notes

If you landed in medieval times, could you build a phone? Or something even simpler, a pencil?

Join hosts Adam B. Levine, Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Stephanie Murphy & Jonathan Mohan for a deep dive into the wildly empowering, complex and terrifyingly automated world we live in. This wide ranging, philosophical discussion touches on such topics as the Suez Canal, Douglas Adams, combat drones, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and more.

The world’s complexity exponentially increases by the decade. A gradual systemization has led to the automation of specialized tasks, affording people free time to perform other, even more complex tasks. For example, consider navigation apps reducing the decision-making process from driving, or the rise of autonomous cars that will eventually remove human interaction altogether.

As the world depends more on an unimaginable web of logistics, what happens when something breaks? The evolution of automation from simple, rules-based systems to incredibly complex machine learning algorithms has diminished the ability to understand or predict these structures.

As much as we love decentralization and technological advancement, where do these aims fail us? Are we creating more problems than solving them?

Today's show featured Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Stephanie Murphy, Jonathan Mohan and Adam B. Levine. This episode was edited by Jonas, with music by Jared Rubens and Gurty Beats.

Image credit: Luca Carrà/Unsplash, modified by Speaking of Bitcoin

Have any questions or comments? Send us an email at adam@speakingofbitcoin.show

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

BREAKDOWN: Is U.S. Crypto Regulatory Bluster About to Become Action? Jul 24, 2021

Show notes

If regulation is unavoidable, now may be a better time to deal with it than later.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

On this edition of the “Weekly Recap,” NLW covers:

Institutional interest revamping
The B Word conference, Elon’s reveal of SpaceX BTC holdings
NFT platform OpenSea’s funding round success
Regulatory bodies pursuing BlockFi

The Breakdown is written, produced by and features NLW, with editing by Michele Musso and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “Razor Red” by Sam Barsh. Image credit: Velishchuk/iStock/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

BREAKDOWN: Bitcoin’s Big Institutional Week - JPMorgan Brings Crypto to All Wealth Management Clients & More Jul 23, 2021

Show notes

A stream of institutional news revives the previously stagnant narrative.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

This week, institutional involvement was revived after the past few months’ inactivity. NLW covers new evidence for institutional interest, including:

A billionaire you can’t ignore
JPMorgan offering crypto exposure
Galaxy Digital’s big bank backers

Elon Musk’s revelation that SpaceX, the space exploration company that he founded, held bitcoin was joined by billionaire Thomas Peterffy’s admission that he holds some crypto, even hinting he sees “a small chance this will be a dominant currency.” On the wealth management end, JPMorgan has opened crypto exposure to all of its clients, a typically conservative set who tend to be passive in their investments. Lastly, London-based digital trading asset venue Galaxy Digital’s big bank backers continues to grow. The latest addition was BNY Mellon.

All this together points to the fact that institutions, no matter how reluctantly, see crypto as an inevitable investment that can’t be ignored.

The Breakdown is written, produced by and features NLW, with editing by Adam B. Levine and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “Only in Time” by Abloom. Image credit: Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

BREAKDOWN: Everything You Need to Know About Elon, Jack and Cathie’s Bitcoin Chat Jul 22, 2021

Show notes

Three crypto personalities provide varying perspectives on bitcoin and the future of the space.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

On this episode of “The Breakdown,” host NLW dissects a highly-anticipated discussion between Cathie Wood, Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk at yesterday’s “The B Word” conference, including:

Wood’s predictions of deflation rather than inflation
Dorsey’s unwavering belief in bitcoin as the internet’s native money
Musk reveals he, Tesla, and SpaceX all hold bitcoin

Wood, one of the earliest Wall Street investors to get into crypto, has been through enough market cycles to have a nuanced understanding of the space. She revived one of her long-standing themes of Bitcoin’s rules-based monetary policy, especially relevant now as central banks operate on unbounded monetary policy. She also touched on recent inflationary concerns, specifically ARK’s belief that deflationary concerns are likely to emerge in the long-term.

Twitter and Square CEO Dorsey has been a consistent ally to Bitcoin. Dorsey highlighted a few of his projects dedicated to a more decentralized future, including Square’s upcoming self-custody hardware wallet and Bluesky, a project to develop an open and decentralized social media platform.

The controversial Musk's contributions to the discussion garnered mixed reactions from the community. Most notably was his admission that outside of Tesla and SpaceX shares, bitcoin is his biggest investment. Additionally, his now-famous statement “I pump but I don’t dump” was backed by his revelation that SpaceX, in addition to Tesla, held BTC. He affirmed the three have never sold their BTC holdings.

While Wood recruits institutional investors and Dorsey builds tools to improve the space, what is Musk’s role in helping or hindering Bitcoin?

The Breakdown is written, produced by and features NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “Razor Red” by Sam Barsh. Image credit: Screenshot from The B Word, modified by CoinDesk.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

BREAKDOWN: Bitcoin Reclaims $30K as the Macro Discussion Shifts From Inflation to COVID-19 to Growth Jul 21, 2021

Show notes

Bitcoin’s rebound following a gloomy week may be an expression of a shifting macro narrative.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

Bitcoin is up just over 7% in the last 24 hours, following its first close below $30,000 since New Year’s Day. On this episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW proposes possible explanations for this reversal, including:

Competing concerns of Inflation and slow post-COVID recovery
Institutional interest in crypto

A few weeks ago, headlines were centered around markets being nervous about inflation. Emergence of the Delta variant and its induced lockdowns, coupled with reports of unexpectedly slow growth in Q2 in China, casts doubt on the inflation concerns. Which concern will prevail and drive the next macro narrative?

Many speculated non-fungible tokens would be a fleeting phenomenon, in fashion for a short period of time and then fading away. However, an investment round for NFT platform OpenSea raised $100 million. Is OpenSea’s success an indicator of renewed long-term investor confidence in crypto?

The Breakdown is written, produced by and features NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “Only in Time” by Abloom. Image credit: Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock/Getty Images Plus, modified by CoinDesk.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

BREAKDOWN: So THIS Is ‘And Then They Fight You’ Jul 20, 2021

Show notes

Crypto finds itself in an inevitable set of regulatory battles.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you and then you win.”

In this episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW examines crypto’s current “and then they fight you” phase, citing recent regulatory battles:

A New Jersey Bureau of Securities order calls for BlockFi to stop accepting new clients residing in the state. CEO Zac Prince remains optimistic, believing the company’s products are lawful and that further discourse with regulators would clear up concerns, the most important of which seems to be surrounding yield delivery. Is a new macro narrative emerging as competition ramps up with high yield enticing new crypto users?

In a meeting with the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, attendees discussed the rapid growth of stablecoins and their risks and benefits for the future. Of the eight political and regulatory figures in attendance, who are likely to provide pro-stablecoin input?

This morning, an incendiary headline dropped – “EU Aims to Ban Anonymous Crypto Asset Wallets” – following a European Commission release. Is the severity of the commission’s reform as fierce as the headline suggests?

The Breakdown is written, produced by and features NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “Razor Red” by Sam Barsh. Image credit: Greg Nash/Bloomberg/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

BREAKDOWN: Will DAOs Transform Power in Venture Capital Fundraising? Jul 19, 2021

Show notes

VCs may lose their position as gatekeepers to startup success.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

In addition to the deep dive into distributed autonomous organizations, or DAOs, and their future in venture capital, today’s “The Brief” covers:

Bitcoin futures trading approved for some Bank of America clients
Stablecoin discussions entering the upper echelons of U.S. government
The bubble continuing to inflate as markets roll over historical indicators

SushiSwap, the decentralized exchange based on Uniswap, is proposing to sell a portion of its treasury to venture firms as part of a broader diversification plan. The community finds itself torn in half over the announcement, with some advocating for the benefits of seasoned expertise and others vehemently denying the need for institutional investors.

SushiSwap’s “VC-versus-community” debate provides a case study on the growing world and strength of DAOs. VCs have previously held the essentially sole power over the fate of startups, but in the case of SushiSwap, they are now forced to be in open negotiation with the community.

This power shift presents a window into the vitality of DAOs, stemming from their democratic and global nature, dynamism and anonymity. Will DAOs succeed as the internet native form of organization?

Image credit: BrianAJackson/iStock/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

BREAKDOWN: Why Governments Should Invest in Bitcoin Infrastructure Jul 18, 2021

Show notes

An argument that the Bitcoin network is a public good and governments should invest in public goods.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

This week’s “Long Reads Sunday” is a reading of “Bitcoin: An Orange New Deal” by Andrew Bailey and Bradley Rettler.

The Breakdown is written, produced by and features NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “Razor Red” by Sam Barsh. Image credit: hamzaturkkol/iStock/Getty Images Plus, modified by CoinDesk.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SOB: How and Why Governments Lie About Inflation Jul 17, 2021

Show notes

An in-depth, historical look at how and why government statistics have changed over time.

Starting this week the Speaking of Bitcoin show joins the CoinDesk Podcast Network

This time on Speaking of Bitcoin, the hosts are joined by John Williams, rogue economist and long-time Editor of ShadowStats.com, a data source that tracks everything from inflation to GDP, money supply to unemployment using the original government defined methodologies. Over time, the government has changed how they measure all of these things and Johns work reveals that these changes all result in better looking statistics from the same, often terrifying numbers.

In this wide ranging conversation we talk about how and why this happened, plus what we can do about it. If this is a new topic to you, expect to come away with a different perspective in this epic episode.

Today's show featured John Williams, Stephanie Murphy, Jonathan Mohan and Adam B. Levine. This episode was edited by Jonas, with music by Jared Rubens and Gurty Beats.

Our album art is a composite work by Adam B. Levine using the current inflation chart from ShadowStats.com along with an excellent imposter-dog image from Brayden Anderson on Unsplash.

Have any questions or comments? Send me an email at adam@speakingof.bitcoinshow

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.