The Breakdown

Latest Episodes:

Bitcoin Is Economic Empowerment Jun 12, 2021

Show notes

On this edition of “The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap,” NLW looks at:

Why the El Salvador news didn’t (immediately) impact bitcoin’s price
How narratives set the tone for new entrants to the bitcoin market
How the digital gold/inflation narrative relates to the economic empowerment narrative
The bitcoin game theory for small nations to invest in bitcoin
How this could impact ESG critiques

-- Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io -- Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/538vuul1PuorUDwgkC8JWF?si=ddSvD-HST2e_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M= Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

An Interview With Bitcoin Beach, the Community That Inspired El Salvador to Adopt the Bitcoin Standard Jun 12, 2021

Show notes

On today’s episode, NLW is joined by Mike Peterson, director of Bitcoin Beach. Bitcoin Beach is a community project in El Salvador that has spent the last two years helping individuals and companies integrate bitcoin into their daily lives and long-term habits. President Nayib Bukele cited Bitcoin Beach in inspiring El Salvador’s bitcoin legal tender law.

In this interview, NLW and Mike discuss:

How he came to reside in El Salvador
How the bitcoin community project started
What drove community adoption at the beginning
How remittances and COVID-19 solidified the value of BTC to the community
How bitcoin has changed how people think about investing
How international bitcoiners such as Miles Suter and Jack Mallers got to know the project
Where the project stands today (complete with 22 different community initiatives)
How bitcoiners can get involved

Find our guest online:Twitter: @BitcoinbeachWeb: www.bitcoinbeach.com

The Empire Strikes Back: Inflation Hits 5% While Elizabeth Warren Goes After Bitcoin Jun 11, 2021

Show notes

In a week so filled with the optimism coming out of El Salvador, of course there had to be another side of the story.

On today’s episode, NLW looks at three examples of the existing power structure fighting back against the rise of crypto:

China shutting down mining in two provinces and apparent censorship of exchange-related terms on Baidu and Weibo
A CFTC commissioner’s extremely negative comments on decentralized finance
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s full-throated assault on bitcoin from yesterday’s Senate Banking Committee hearing

Is bitcoin devolving to just another partisan issue?

El Salvador Made Bitcoin Legal Tender As President Bukele Casually Chatted on Twitter Spaces Jun 10, 2021

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Last night, El Salvador voted to pass the bill making Bitcoin legal tender. As representatives debated the bill, the President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele and his brother and campaign manager Karim Bukele surprise-joined a Twitter Space hosted by Nic Carter, where the president would spend about an hour answering questions.

In today’s episode, NLW breaks down:

The substance of the bill
Specific elements of the plan from the Spaces chat - including Volcano mining and the Bitcoin cost of foreign residency
The historical significance of the moment for Bitcoin, media, El Salvador and more

Biden’s Top Antitrust Adviser Is a Bitcoin Millionaire Jun 09, 2021

Show notes

On today’s episode, NLW looks at a grab bag of recent news:

El Salvador’s bitcoin announcement makes waves as politicians from six more Central and South American countries change their profiles to laser eyes
Donald Trump resurfaces to rip bitcoin again
No, the FBI didn’t break bitcoin
Why Tim Wu’s bitcoin holdings are intellectually consistent with his antitrust stance

El Salvador to Become the First Bitcoin Country: Just How Big a Deal Is This? Jun 08, 2021

Show notes

On Saturday, the Bitcoin 2021 organizers teased that one of the biggest announcements in bitcoin’s history was coming.

That announcement ended up being from El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who shared that he was advancing a bill to make bitcoin legal tender in the country.

Since then there has been a huge amount of debate and discussion about the implications and the significance of the move. In this episode, NLW breaks down the story from multiple angles.

-- Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io -- Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/538vuul1PuorUDwgkC8JWF?si=ddSvD-HST2e_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M= Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

What a New Era of Big Government Could Mean for Bitcoin Jun 06, 2021

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A reading of David Z. Morris’ piece for CoinDesk “Has COVID-19 Made Biden’s Big Spending the New Normal?”.

Is the Bitcoin Bull Market Over? Jun 05, 2021

Show notes

Today on “The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap” NLW looks at a growing number of predictions of a new “crypto winter” as well as some reviews of how companies and DAOs are preparing for that possibility. He shares poll results from whether Bitcoin Twitter thinks this bull market is over and discusses how the macro landscape may be playing into it.

Who Matters More to Bitcoin: Whales or Plebs? Jun 05, 2021

Show notes

Today on the Brief:

May’s middling jobs report
A ransomware update
Square building a bitcoin hardware wallet

Our main discussion looks at the various constituencies within bitcoin and asks who has what type of power to shape the network. Specifically, NLW homes in on recent price action and the divergent actions of large holders and small holders over the month of May.

Chinese State Media Indicates China Is NOT Banning Crypto Trading Jun 04, 2021

Show notes

Today’s episode looks at crypto in geopolitical context, focusing on:

A follow-up on the ransomware surge, with experts suggesting that it’s not about crypto payments but about the “ransomware-as-a-service” distribution model
A look at why a Russian opposition leader is moving his supporters to crypto fundraising exclusively
A review of a series of reports from Chinese state-owned media that, while trying to convince citizens to stay away, nevertheless reinforce they still have agency to own and trade crypto

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