Author: CoinDesk

The $1 billion bond will be tokenized and powered by Blockstream and Bitfinex. 

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

Today on “The Breakdown,” a check in on El Salvador, where President Nayib Bukele has just announced “Bitcoin City,” a new community that will feature no income or capital gains tax and be designed to attract talent from around the world. The effort is being funded in part by a $1 billion bond that some are calling the “Volcano Bond.” The bond will be tokenized by Blockstream on Liquid and available for trade on Bitfinex. NLW covers the bitcoin world’s reaction to the news (as well as some fintwit skepticism). 

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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.

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“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell, research by Scott Hill 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 “Dark Crazed Cap” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: Jaime Mejia/iStock/Getty Images Plus, modified by CoinDesk.

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A reading of two prescient Nic Carter essays from 2020. 

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

In today’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW goes back to read excerpts from two Nic Carter pieces that seem particularly prescient today, as the U.S. weighs the opportunities and risks of stablecoins. 

Policymakers Shouldn't Fear Digital Money: So Far It's Maintaining the Dollar's Status

The Crypto-Dollar Surge and the American Opportunity

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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.

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“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Michele Musso & Adrian Blust, research by Scott Hill 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 “Dark Crazed Cap” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: Thom Lang/The Image Bank, 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.

If the good times are over, many have the dry powder to weather the storm.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

From $400 million to a crypto exchange to $2.5 billion for the biggest crypto fund in history, NLW tells the story of this week’s big fundraising events by the numbers. 

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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.

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“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Michele Musso & Adrian Blust, research by Scott Hill 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 “Dark Crazed Cap” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: Nuthawut Somsuk/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.

More than 17,000 people raised over $40 million, but it wasn’t enough.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

Last night the crypto community waited with bated breath to see who had won the first printing of the U.S. Constitution. Despite raising over $40 million from 17,000 people, the ConstitutionDAO was ultimately outbid. In this episode, NLW discusses how the DAO came together, how the bidding went down and how the community should feel about its near miss. 

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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.

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“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Michele Musso & Adrian Blust, research by Scott Hill 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 “Dark Crazed Cap” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: Alexi Rosenfeld/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.

Anyone who tells you the U.S. government is going to ban crypto is crazy.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

Yesterday’s show was a global regulatory roundup, but today’s is all about the U.S. The Joint Economic Committee held an event this week all about “Demystifying Crypto.” In this episode, NLW looks at:

• The overall shift in tone in government crypto hearings 
• The specific questions and topics that JEC members asked
• The beginnings of a partisan hardening of the crypto discourse 
• New legislation to undo the problematic provisions of the infrastructure bill 

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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.

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“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Michele Musso & Adrian Blust, research by Scott Hill 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 “Dark Crazed Cap” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: Bloomberg/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.

The state of crypto regulatory news from India to Russia to Brazil. 

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

On today’s episode, NLW does a whistle-stop tour of global crypto regulatory news, including:

• India – set to ban crypto as payment but regulated as asset? 
• Israel – might new AML rules make it easier for banks to work with crypto providers?
• Sweden – disagreement on mining politics
• Russia – a new source of global power? 
• Indonesia – is bitcoin haram? 
• As well as news from Peru, the U.K. and Brazil 

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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.

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“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Michele Musso & Adrian Blust, research by Scott Hill 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 “Dark Crazed Cap” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: btgbtg/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.

As is so often the case, it was a combination of macro news and market structure. 

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

Bitcoin has been on a journey over the last 24 hours, from nearly $65,000 all the way down to $58,000 and everywhere in between. On today’s episode, NLW explores what’s driving it, including: 

• Leveraged traders left over from last week’s all-time high
• Twitter CFO saying no investments in crypto
• President Biden signing the U.S. infrastructure bill with crypto broker redefinition 
• Inflation questions
• Federal Reserve leadership questions 

Finally, he points to Marathon’s offering of a half billion dollars in debt to buy more BTC and rigs as a counter-indicator. 

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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.

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“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell, research by Scott Hill 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 “Dark Crazed Cap” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: Malte Mueller/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.

A look at one of the boldest experiments in internet financial organizing yet. 

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

On Thursday, Nov. 18th, Sotheby’s is auctioning off one of just 13 (or 11, depending on your source) copies of the original edition of the U.S. Constitution, printed in September 1787 for distribution to members of the Continental Congress and the states that would need to debate and ratify the document. It’s the first time the document has been for sale in a third of a century, and this time, a new DAO has sprung up to make the purchase collectively. On today’s episode, NLW breaks down ConstitutionDAO, looking at:

• What the project is trying to achieve 
• How quickly it’s coming together and gaining momentum
• What it means for the future of DAOs 

 

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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 Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell, research by Scott Hill 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 “Dark Crazed Cap” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: rdegrie/E+/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.

Today’s show is from a time before the trillion (or even billion) dollar market cap; Before Vitalik had ever spoken the word Ethereum; Before taproot, segwit, stock-to-flow and the institutional investing thesis. In the early days, Bitcoin was the absolute state of the art and the basis for an entirely new and utterly revolutionary form of technology. In this episode you’ll get a peek at how we discussed it before everything that would happen had happened.

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io.

Original show notes for episode 14 - In Search of Goldilocks

• Listener mail: “Microtransaction powered social networks”
• Constance Choi, legal council at payward brings us up to speed on DC, Fincen & Treasury
• The retroactive Bitcoin paywall
• Counterintuitive: Smaller amounts equal larger transactions?
• 1 Megabyte blocks, good or bad?
• Who needs banks? Zach Harvey of the Lamassu bitcoin vending machine
• Full node clients vs. lite clients: Are federated servers the future?

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Today's episode art is a screenshot from CoinMarketCap.com's historical tool, modified by Speaking of Bitcoin

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

A reading of two essays that show the full range of communities connecting to crypto.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

On this edition of “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads two pieces:

• “Why Shouldn’t the Navajo Mine Bitcoin?” by William Foxley 
• “This Imprisoned Russian Artist Is Selling NFTs to Support His Family and Fellow Inmates” by Anna Baydakova

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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 Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with today’s editing by Adrian Blust, research by Scott Hill 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 “Dark Crazed Cap” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: Tribalium/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.