CoinDesk Podcast Network

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BREAKDOWN: What Happens When Currencies Fail? Feat. Preston Pysh Mar 13, 2020

Show notes

Massive and novel government intervention in markets is now a foregone conclusion, but what happens to bitcoin as the dust settles?

Description

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve announced more than a trillion dollars in liquidity injections into the market. In the coming weeks, many observers expect trillions of more in stimulus in a variety of exotic new intervention tactics.

While this will (hopefully) stem the still emerging economic fallout from the pandemic, it creates its own new set of problems. In this episode of The Breakdown, @NLW is joined by “We Study Billionaires” host Preston Pysh to discuss:

How bond markets will react to the wave of stimulus
The challenge of global coordination for a new Bretton Woods
Why in the wake of stimulus some governments might turn to bitcoin
The three factors that lead to currency failure

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BREAKDOWN: 6 Good Reasons for Bitcoin HODLers to Stay Calm Mar 12, 2020

Show notes

The Coronavirus got really extra real today for markets. A two and a half week selloff was tipped to the next level by a major ratcheting up of action from the US government (which still seemed clearly to be not enough to calm markets).

In bitcoin, this meant a drop from around $8000 yesterday to under $6000 today - a head-spinning dump, especially for those who are more recent to crypto.

Still, in this episode, @NLW argues that there are 7 good reasons to keep calm and HODL on:

It’s not just bitcoin
Correlation means infiltration
Peak fear
Asia on the upswing
Buy order behavior
Bitcoin’s been dead before
And a bonus: this environment is exactly what bitcoin was built for

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BREAKDOWN: Ben Hunt on Markets and Narratives in the Age of Coronavirus Mar 11, 2020

Show notes

The week of February 12, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was reaching new all time highs. Meanwhile, China’s quarantine of the 11 million people in Wuhan was three weeks old and expanding to other parts of the country.

While the global equities markets have finally started to catch up to the fear of a global pandemic, the Coronavirus has been one a profound case study in the power of narratives to shape behavior. Even now, those seeking to contain the spread in the US are fighting against narratives from leadership that range from “it’s just the flu” to “it’s a hoax from the media.”

On today’s episode of The Breakdown, NLW speaks with Epsilon Theory co-founder and market theorist Ben Hunt, who makes it his business to understand how narratives are shape and shaped by the world around us.

Since the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak, Ben has been a clarion voice in the chaos. This episode is no exception.

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BREAKDOWN: Crypto Fundraising and a Nothing-Is-Safe Haven Mar 10, 2020

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Whatever you thought of the uncorrelated or safe haven narratives a few weeks ago, it’s hard to deny that bitcoin and crypto are moving in lock step with equities - even mirroring a small bounce in the morning that retreated in the early afternoon.

On this episode of The Breakdown, NLW looks at hot takes on the narrative from Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal and crypto investor Ari David Paul.

Not all the news is bleak, however. Also on this episode, we break down recent financings for

Argent’s de-fi friendly wallet
Horizon Games’ blockchain-based Hearthstone/MtG style game SkyWeaver
Futureswap’s decentralized futures exchange and more

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BREAKDOWN: What the Market Crash Means for Bitcoin, Feat. Delphi's Kevin Kelly Mar 09, 2020

Show notes

Bitcoin’s price has cratered, but it’s nothing compared to the broader market havoc. From the Coronavirus scare to an oil price war, a confluence of factors is aligning to make it a very rough Monday.

On this episode of The Breakdown, @nlw is joined by Delphi Digital’s Kevin Kelly to discuss:

Why the stock market is just catching up to what the bond markets have been saying
Why the bond markets have been a better reflection of potential economic pain
Why we need to pay attention to what happens in the credit markets
The role of the oil price war in today’s market drop
What the declining bitcoin price means for the safe haven and uncorrelated asset narratives
Which assets are actually acting like safe havens

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LEIGH: Leader to Watch: Elena Giralt Talks Zcash and Feminism Mar 07, 2020

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CoinDesk reporter Leigh Cuen is joined by Elena Giralt, the Electric Coin Company’s product marketing associate known for her research on cryptocurrency usage in Latin America, to talk about how digital assets can subvert power dynamics.

According to the Brookings Institute, roughly 4.6 million Venezuelans have fled the country so far, which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees called the largest exodus in the region’s recent history. Many such refugees and diaspora Venezuelans use cryptocurrency for remittances or to earn freelance income. But, as Giralt pointed out, the industry at-large has a long way to go to improve ethical marketing in the region.

“Adoption has been overstated by companies that have a vested interest,” she said. “If you’re going to promote a certain solution or initiative in a vulnerable population, there’s really a higher bar for disclosures and informed consent.”

Consent is, from Giralt’s perspective, the underlying principle of cypherpunk technology. Later, we'll discuss how financial privacy is crucial to women’s rights and free, easy ways for people to empower women in their local communities.

Want more? Leigh also has an article about Venezuelans using cryptocurrency.

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

BREAKDOWN: FluffyPony on Encryption, Clearview and How Coronavirus Could Impact Privacy Mar 06, 2020

Show notes

As the Coronavirus took hold in China, officials in the Hubei province tracked potential patients by examining purchase records for cough and flu medicine for the previous month.

Welcome to the new frontiers of privacy. In this wide-ranging episode, @NLW chats with former lead maintainer of Monero and Tari co-founder Riccardo Spagni - aka @FluffyPony on Twitter - about privacy in the context of:

The recent arrest of DropBit CEO Larry Harmon surrounding bitcoin mixer technology being used for illicit purposes
The US govt’s battle against end-to-end encryption
Central bank digital currencies
At home devices like Alexa and Google home
Clearview AI and facial recognition
China’s response to Coronavirus
Why individual apathy is the greatest threat to privacy in the world

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

LEIGH: Binance US and Stellar CEOs Debunk Myths for International Women’s Day Mar 06, 2020

Show notes

CoinDesk reporter Leigh Cuen is joined by Binance US CEO Catherine Coley and Stellar Development Foundation

CEO Denelle Dixon to debunk myths about gender for International Women’s Day.

There’s a common myth that women are less likely to be interested in bitcoin than men. The reality is people with higher income levels have a greater propensity for cryptocurrency and women still earn significantly less than men. Sexism isn’t only a problem in the so-called third world. A 2010 report by the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed roughly 11 percent of reports from women in abusive relationships came from upper-middle-class or wealthy households.

Globally, women still have fewer inheritance rights than men as well. And, according to the World Development Report in 2012, it was common for 5-45 percent of women respondents in any given jurisdiction to say they don’t have control over their own income. Since financial abuse happens across income levels, two of the leading women executives in Silicon Valley share career advice and management tips.

Later, we'll discuss how crypto startups can recruit diverse women and recognize untapped talent.

Want more? Leigh also has an article about women in the blockchain industry.

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BREAKDOWN: Why Bitcoin Mining Might Be the New Business Model for US Power Plants Mar 05, 2020

Show notes

It was another good day for global crypto, as South Korea votes to formally integrate the industry into the existing financial system, opening the market to new players and potentially improving services for crypto companies.

In New York state, meanwhile, a recently renovated power plant is taking advantage of low cost energy with 7000 bitcoin miners. This is part of a larger trend of US-based mining in 2020.

In a very different part of the industry, a new partnership between ConsenSys, EY and Microsoft suggests the intranet era of enterprise blockchain might be coming to a close.

Finally, the new governor of the Bank of England says be prepared to lose money if you buy bitcoin.

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BREAKDOWN: Libra Plus? A New Global Digital Currency Strategy for Facebook Mar 04, 2020

Show notes

Yesterday, The Information reported that Facebook’s Calibra wallet would be abandoning the backed-by-a-basket-of-currencies Libra for a set of fiat-backed digital currencies for different regions. The company quickly amended that while they would be launching those fiat-based digital currencies, they weren’t abandoning Libra. In this episode, @NLW argues that these fiat digital currencies could be more readily adopted initially than Libra among Facebook’s existing user base.

Also on this episode, huge news out of India, as the Supreme Court reverses a decision by the Reserve Bank of India from 2018 to ban crypto banking. The move could breath life into an industry which has largely shuttered in India since the initial ban.

Finally, a news roundup including a lawsuit against Twitter around de-platforming and a new router from HTC that can also run a bitcoin full node.

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

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