CoinDesk Podcast Network

The top stories and best shows in the blockchain world, delivered daily from the team at CoinDesk.

Latest Episodes:

BREAKDOWN: Meltem Demirors on Government Digital Currencies and Why ‘The Halvening’ Gets Weird Dec 24, 2019

Show notes

One of CoinDesk’s ten most influential people of 2019, Melem Demirors is a crypto renaissance woman, known best for investing, operating as CSO of CoinShares, and for explaining ‘shitcoins’ to Congress.

In this end of year Breakdown, Meltem argues explains why the entrance of governments to the digital asset game is the most significant story of 2019, as well as suggesting that the presence of an entirely new financial infrastructure around bitcoin means the halvening is likely to be unlike what anyone thinks.

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BREAKDOWN: Peter McCormack On A Defiant New Era For Bitcoin Dec 23, 2019

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Peter McCormack is one of the most prominent podcasters in the space. In 2019, he added a new podcast called “Defiance” and focused on the intersection of bitcoin, human rights, and political activism to complement his “What Bitcoin Did” podcast. In this special end of year episode of The Breakdown, Peter discusses why the past year represents an inflection point for citizen action and sovereign protest around the world, and why 2020 is likely to see a continued bloodletting among non-bitcoin cryptoassets.

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BREAKDOWN: Art Haus Ethereum Meets Bitcoin Financialization Dec 20, 2019

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One of the most important (yet somehow quiet) narratives of 2019 has been the financialization of bitcoin and the emergence of a robust market for derivative products. That was reinforced today as Binance announced a significant investment in derivatives exchange FTX. How will key events coming up in 2020 like the bitcoin halving be impacted by the presence of derivatives?

At the same time, not all crypto projects are trying to change money. Some, like the Saint Fame DAO, a fashion house-slash-human coordination experiment, are simply trying to do interesting things that people think are cool.

Topics discussed:

Binance invests in crypto derivatives exchange FTX

https://www.coindesk.com/binance-invests-undisclosed-sum-in-crypto-derivatives-platform-ftx

New derivative products help miners hedge against volatility

https://www.coindesk.com/gsr-partners-with-canaan-backed-startup-to-offer-crypto-miners-derivatives

Saint Fame brings the DAO model and bonding curves to fashion.

https://www.coindesk.com/meet-the-decentralized-fashion-house-bringing-overpriced-t-shirts-to-ethereum

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BREAKDOWN: Should the Government Have a Say in Where Can Invest? Dec 19, 2019

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Accredited investor laws block most of the US out of technology and other types of early stage risk investing, but as the ICO boom showed, not being allowed to do something doesn’t mean that people don’t want to do it.

The SEC announced prospective changes to those laws that could expand accredited status. In the world of DeFi, a number of different projects including Synthetix (with an assist from Chainlink) and Kyber are looking to more fully decentralized heading into 2020.

And finally a quick review of the CoinDesk 2019 most influential list, including why Hodlonaut is the best selection.

Topics Discussed

The SEC has announced a set of potential modifications to contentious accredited investor rules. https://www.coindesk.com/sec-proposal-would-broaden-accredited-investor-definition

Kyber and Synthetix look to move certain governance functions to DAOs and Synthetix teams up with Chainlink for decentralized price oracles. https://thedefiant.substack.com/p/defi-heavy-weights-synthetix-and

CoinDesk has published its annual most influential list. https://www.coindesk.com/presenting-coindesks-most-influential-2019

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BREAKDOWN: 'Stacking Sats' vs. 'ETH is Money' - The Memes That Shaped 2019 Dec 18, 2019

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From “digital gold” to “stacking sats” to “ETH is money,” 2019 was a year of narrative battlegrounds and meme warfare. And when every narrative is competing for scarce resources and attention, things are sure to get contentious.

This special episode breaks down Ryan Selkis’ recent list of top ten crypto narratives and adds a few more worthy of note. Does “The Revolution Need Rules?” Is “Dissident Tech” the newest important area of focus.

Topics Covered

The most important memes and narratives of 2019

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BREAKDOWN: The Productization of Bitcoin Maximalism Dec 17, 2019

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Welcome to The Breakdown: A daily analysis show distributed by CoinDesk, featuring @NLW

On this episode...

More crypto businesses are transitioning to or choosing to focus exclusively on bitcoin only from the beginning, in some ways representing a productization of bitcoin maximalism.

In China, however, the government is cracking down fiercly on resurgent crypto businesses that have taking President Xi’s positive comments about blockchain as an excuse to operate more openly.

Interestingly, the attitude of many US financial firms seems to be shifting from a version of “blockchain not crypto” to “digital assets not blockchain” as they begin to adapt to demand from customers.

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Announcing: The Road to Consensus! (link in shownotes) Mar 11, 2019

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Subscribe to Road to Consensus here:

https://art19.com/shows/road-to-consensus-by-coindesk

We've launched a new podcast featuring interviews with leaders of the blockchain industry. If you like this first episode, please subscribe at the link above! And if you want more info about Consensus in New York on May 13, visit Consensus2019.com

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800k Bitcoin Miners Recently Shut Down Nov 26, 2018

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F2pool, believes that anywhere from 600k to 800k bitcoin miners have shut down since mid-November as the bitcoin network’s hashrate - and the cryptocurrency’s price - have declined.
Ripple has released the latest version of its most popular product, xCurrent.
Porn startup SpankChain raised $6 million in an initial coin offering in 2017.
Ohio has officially become the first US state to accept bitcoin for taxes.

Late Confirmation is a CoinDesk production.

For more information, visit www.CoinDesk.com

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Giga Watt Declares Bankruptcy Nov 21, 2018

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The U.S-based crypto mining firm Giga Watt filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy this past Monday, but it still owes creditors some $7 million.
Insurance coverage in the crypto space totals about $6 billion, a mere drop in the bucket for a market cap of $140 billion.
Six days after the bitcoin cash hard fork, it appears that the chains will be permanently split.
Silvergate Bank has 483 crypto startups as its clients, according to a filing it made as part of an initial public offering.

Late Confirmation is a CoinDesk production.

For more information, visit www.CoinDesk.com

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Bakkt delays its launch until next year Nov 20, 2018

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The ICE’s bitcoin futures trading platform Bakkt is delaying its product launch.
The U.K.’s FCA is considering a ban on some cryptocurrency-based derivatives, a senior executive has said.
The Alabama Securities Commission is taking a hard stance on would-be ICO frauds.
The U.S. Department of Justice is increasingly focusing a months-long investigation into crypto market manipulation on the tether stablecoin.

Late Confirmation is a CoinDesk production.

For more information, visit www.CoinDesk.com

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