Author: CoinDesk

A look at the historical trend as well as what’s driving weakness in the crypto and stock markets.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. 

Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at the historic weakness in the bitcoin market in the month of September. He examines:

• The numbers that show how persistent this trend has been
• Some anecdotal explanations for why it’s so 
• Why September is the worst month for stocks historically
• The role of summer vacation and mutual fund fiscal years in that historic weakness
• The latest regulatory FUD around crypto and why stablecoins are the next big target

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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 NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell 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 “Only in Time” by Abloom. Image credit: jokerpro/iStock/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.

Does the Fed really want to be the morality police for payments?

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG. 

A reading of JP Koning’s essay for Coindesk “Are Central Bankers Ready for Payments Theater?”

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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 NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell 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 “Tidal Wave” by BRASKO. Image credit: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/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 roundup of regulatory and global macro news from the previous week.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

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

• The latest in China’s Evergrande crisis 
• Texas and New Jersey target Celsius on their lending products 
• Bitcoin adoption in Laos
• A wrap-up on the OpenSea NFT front running scandal 

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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 NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell 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 “Only in Time” by Abloom. Image credit: krisanapong detraphiphat/Moment/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.

The real estate developer is teetering on the brink of collapse, but what might it bring with it?

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

Today’s show is a look at one of the most important but under-discussed macro events in the world today: the crisis surrounding China’s massive real estate developer Evergrande. The company’s share price has fallen more than 85% this year and around the country, people are protesting as more than 1.5 million deposits for homes were taken without fulfillment. In this episode, NLW looks at whether the risk is limited to just Evergrande, or whether it represents a larger systemic risk for China or the world as a whole. 

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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 NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell 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 “Tidal Wave” by BRASKO. Image credit: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg/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.

Plus a look at how China is staying vigilant on keeping mining out.

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

Today’s episode of “The Breakdown” looks at a variety of topics covering the evolving relationships between states and digital currencies, including:

• Inner Mongolia’s fight to keep crypto mining out 
• Laos’ official about-face on crypto and attempt to attract China’s mining refugees
• CZ’s latest in Binance’s whistlestop tour to change regulators’ perception of the company
• Europe’s upcoming ECB trial 
• Coinbase’s derivative ambitions 
• And a big raise for Avalanche 

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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 NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell 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 “Only in Time” by Abloom. Image credit: Mlenny/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.

Gensler testified before the Senate yesterday. This is what we learned. 

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

Today on "The Breakdown," NLW examines SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s testimony yesterday in front of the Senate Banking Committee. He discusses:

• How some allies from the Infrastructure Bill put the screws to Gensler on lack of clarity around securities designation
• How Gensler is trying to redefine stablecoins 
• Warren and Gensler’s dubious understanding of ETH fees 
• The central problem of free markets vs. investor protections 

NLW also covers the Solana outage and the reports of insider trading at OpenSea. 

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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 NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell 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 “Only in Time” by Abloom. Image credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/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.

Steve Cohen, Jump Trading, Bain Capital among those increasing their exposure to crypto. 

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

On this episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW looks at an array of recent fund announcements, including:

• Dan Tapiero and 10T’s $750 million
• Pantera raising a $600 million fund 
• Jump Capital announcing a new $350 million fund with more focus on crypto and Jump Trading launching Jump Crypto 
• Mets’ owner Steve Cohen investing in a high-frequency trading firm
• Bain Capital Ventures launching a dedicated crypto fund

What does it say about the state of the crypto markets? Listen to find out. 

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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 NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell 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 “Tidal Wave” by BRASKO. Image credit: Feodora Chiosea/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.

A fake press release fools far too many. 

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

At 9:30 a.m. ET, a press release from “Walmart Inc” dropped today claiming that the company was partnering with Litecoin to begin accepting the 2016-era crypto darling at its retail locations. The news, seemingly fishy, was nonetheless reported as true by nearly every crypto outlet and numerous mainstream outlets, as well. In today’s episode, NLW breaks down:

• What happened and how the news spread
• The context clues in the release that should have aroused suspicion
• The smoking guns of fakeness in the release that REALLY should have aroused suspicion
• Why the scam was designed to target press
• Why the ensuing pump is likely to draw regulatory ire. 

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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 NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell 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 “Only in Time” by Abloom. Image credit: David Swanson/Bloomberg/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 reading of a recent speech from the Bank for International Settlements. 

This episode is sponsored by NYDIG.

A reading of a recent speech by Benoit Cœuré, the head of the BIS Innovation Hub, on “Central bank digital currency: the future starts today.” 

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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 NLW, with editing this episode by Michele Musso 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 “Only in Time” by Abloom. Image credit: Hiroshi Watanabe/DigitalVision/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.

El Salvador’s decision to make bitcoin legal tender shocked the world. Earlier this week the rapidly-developed and adopted bitcoin law went live, kicking off what seems primed to be an era of accelerated change unlike anything seen in our lifetimes.

Join hosts Adam B. Levine, Andreas M. Antonopoulos and Stephanie Murphy for a quick three part discussion on the launch challenges, implications and listener comments from our previous show on the topic.

First, the launch: It was messy, but it happened. Alex Gladstein had an insightful twitter thread in the days leading up to it. Matt Ahlborg dug into the day-1 government issued wallet and found a mixed bag. He found extra controls on the money given out at launch but a fairly robust technological package including native SegWit support and a functional lightning network integration

Second, the implications: This path towards adoption was not what we expected. What El Salvador's move to use bitcoin directly suggests is that dollarized nations, or those who use another countries currency and in doing so become subject to their monetary policy decisions, may prefer bitcoin's non-monetary policy to either domestic or imported control. That's in sharp contrast to nations like India, China and the US who use their currencies and controls over it to accomplish policy goals. These powerful players see central bank digital currencies as a way to supercharge their monetary policy compared to their influence today over physical banknotes.

And finally, the local perspective: We had two listeners write in with corrections to our prior episode (We were incorrect about the reason why El Salvador "dollarized" their economy in 2000, it was billed as a move to lower the cost of borrowing, not because of elevated inflation) along with the many concerns and questions which are still unanswered. You'll find both listeners comments in full linked below.

Links from the episode:

• Federeco's El Salvador Perspective
• Rafael's El Salvador Perspective

Have any questions or comments? Send us an email at adam@speakingofbitcoin.show

Today's show featured Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Stephanie Murphy and Adam B. Levine. This episode was edited by Jonas, with music by Jared Rubens and Gurty Beats. Our album art is based off a photo by Photo by Wilson Edilberto Santana Suarez on Unsplash, 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.