The Breakdown

Latest Episodes:

‘Bitcoin and Ethereum Have Gone Completely Separate Directions,’ Feat. Bully Esq. Dec 25, 2020

Show notes

Bully Esquire is a Crypto Twitter personality, lawyer, founder of AlphaMarkets and host of the “Bully Esquire” podcast. In this conversation, he and NLW discuss what was good and bad about the DeFi boom of 2020 and more.

Find our guest online: @bullyesq

Why 2020 Unlocked a New Generation of Investors, feat. Jill Carlson Dec 24, 2020

Show notes

No one would have expected an economic crisis to bring a new generation of investors to the table, but that's exactly what it did.

Hacking Humanity With Bitcoin, feat. Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert Dec 23, 2020

Show notes

Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert are one of bitcoin's most dynamic duos, producing a variety of content, including the Orange Pill podcast. In this discussion with NLW, they talk about why this year was transformational in terms of how people view the aging economic system, and why 2021 is poised to mint even more new bitcoiners.

Find our guests online:

@maxkeiser

@stacyherbert

Raoul Pal on the Coming Transformation of Monetary and Fiscal Policy Dec 22, 2020

Show notes

Raoul Pal is the founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor and Real Vision and one of the leading voices in modern macroeconomic discussions. In this conversation, he and NLW discuss bitcoin's monster 2020, how DeFi compares to ICOs, and why we should be paying more attention to central bank digital currencies.

Find our guest online: @RaoulGMI

The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW

Why Bitcoin and Rehypothecation Don’t Mix Dec 20, 2020

Show notes

On this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW starts with the latest essay by Jeffrey Snider, “A Nonsensical Jumble of Misused Words Requires Discussion” and then with Caitlin Long’s followup thread, putting the discussion of rehypothecation in the bitcoin context.

Preston Pysh on Why Currencies Fail [Encore] Dec 19, 2020

Show notes

On March 12, as the U.S. government struggled to wrap its head around the emerging COVID-19 pandemic and markets floundered, bitcoin had one of its worst days in history, crashing by thousands of dollars and even hitting below $4,000 on some exchanges.

That evening, NLW and podcaster Preston Pysh recorded a conversation about bitcoin, central banks and what happens when currencies fail. Nine months later, the conversation is as salient as ever.

Find our guest online: @PrestonPysh

Balaji Srinivasan on Communist Capital vs. Woke Capital vs. Crypto Capital Dec 19, 2020

Show notes

Balaji Srinivasan is an angel investor and entrepreneur, the former CTO of Coinbase, a former General Partner at Andressen Horowitz and more.

In this wide-ranging conversation with NLW, he discusses:

How networks are taking a power role once reserved for god and the state
Why pre-internet institutions will not survive the internet
Why bitcoin at $1 million is a global government
Woke capital vs. communist capital vs. crypto capital

The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW

The CIO of $230B Guggenheim Just Called for $400,000 BTC Dec 18, 2020

Show notes

With so much focus on bitcoin’s record-setting price run, a number of huge (and hugely bullish) stories have gotten comparatively short shrift. In this episode, NLW looks at:

Ruffer LLP’s $744 million bitcoin buy
Hedge Funder Alan Howard and One River’s $1 billion digital assets bet
Northern Trust getting into crypto custody
Guggenheim Partners’ CIO calling for $400,000 BTC
CoinDesk sister company Grayscale as the fastest-growing asset manager in history?

The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW

Why $20,000 Bitcoin Matters Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

After weeks of flirting with all-time highs, bitcoin has broken through the most significant psychological barrier: $20,000.

In today’s episode of The Breakdown, NLW looks at why the moment is so significant, arguing:

Bitcoin is an incentive design system where price drives more benefits than financial gain
The validation of retail traders and more recent institutional investors creates an even stronger group of evangelists
The psychological price barrier is likely to increase FOMO among those on the sidelines

The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW

Will Wall Street Ruin Bitcoin? Featuring Ben Hunt and Alex Gladstein Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

Ben Hunt is the founder of Second Foundation Partners and lead author of Epsilon Theory. Alex Gladstein is the chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation.

In this conversation, they discuss one of the most important burgeoning topics of the year: In a world where bitcoin goes mainstream with traditional financial institutions, can it keep its more renegade spirit? More important, can it keep its more renegade features such as permissionless access and censorship resistance?

Ben and Alex join for a good faith, spirited discussion of whether the bitcoin we know today will be preserved or whether it is doomed to be co-opted by the financial powers that be.

Find our guests on social:

Ben: @EpsilonTheory

Alex: @Gladstein

The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected