Author: CoinDesk

According to a number of different data points, bitcoin whales saw last week’s volatility and price declines as a chance to accumulate. 

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io.

Today’s grab-bag episode looks at five different topics:

• Bitcoin whales kept accumulating during last week’s dip
• Jim Cramer advises Powerball winner to put 5% in bitcoin
• Previewing the first FOMC meeting of the Biden Administration
• Earnings week on Wall Street looks good for Big Tech
• An insider’s look at the state of crypto venture capital

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The document that started it all, in audio form.

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io.

For this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads the document that started it all - the Bitcoin White Paper. Interestingly, this document was released under an MIT open-source license, available free to all. 

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Reports are that Chris Brummer – author of a volume on crypto assets and frequent speaker on digital currencies – will chair the CFTC.

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io.

On this edition of the Weekly Recap, NLW argues that while bitcoin’s price was the short-term story of the week, the medium-term story was all about the transition of power in the U.S. to the new Biden Administration. In it, he discusses what the appointments (reported or confirmed) of Janet Yellen, Gary Gensler, Michael Barr and Chris Brummer suggest about the future of crypto policy. 

This week on The Breakdown:

Monday | Lyn Alden on Why the Dollar System No Longer Serves the US or the World

Tuesday | Goldman Sachs Can No Longer Dismiss Bitcoin

Wednesday | Is Janet Yellen Bitcoin’s Biggest Enemy or Greatest Asset? Yes

Thursday | Why the World’s Largest Asset Manager Is Getting Into Bitcoin

Friday | This Bitcoin Dip Was Not Caused by FUD

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While there was plenty of FUD flying around, it wasn’t the real reason prices pulled back so significantly.

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io.

Today on the Brief:

• Home sales up, home supply down
• Biden’s first test on the stimulus
• Euro pessimism

Our main discussion: Why the bitcoin dip wasn’t caused by FUD.

Anyone paying attention this week had reasons for frenetic worry. Janet Yellen’s comments on criminal activity. Persistent questions around Tether. A non-story about a double-spend that got amplified by mainstream media. 

In this episode, NLW argues that none of these actually explains the dip. Instead, he argues, they were used by sophisticated traders to amplify the dip’s impact.

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Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io.

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As BlackRock gets ready to make its first foray into bitcoin, innovation-focused ARK ETF flows surpass that of BlackRock.

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io.

Today on the Brief:

• A new SPAC exchange-traded fund with bitcoin-experienced leadership
• First look at Brian Brooks’ possible replacement at OCC
• What to expect from institutional bitcoin price targets in the coming weeks

Our main discussion: BlackRock comes to bitcoin. 

BlackRock filings with the SEC suggest two funds might buy bitcoin futures. In this episode, NLW looks at:

• The signs leading up to BlackRock’s interest
• Why BlackRock’s CIO thinks bitcoin will out-compete gold for millennial investors 
• How ARK ETFs are seeing startling fund flows, causing larger market FOMO around innovation

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Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io.

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As a new administration is sworn in, how will one if its most important officials – nominated Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen – impact the digital assets space? 

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io.

Today on the Brief:

• Jack Ma is not dead
• The latest in crypto M&A
• Deutsche Bank survey sites bitcoin as biggest bubble

Our main discussion: Yellen’s impact on bitcoin and digital assets

In this episode, NLW breaks down the cryptocurrency FUD competing to be the “wall of worry” for the new 2021 bull market, including Tether FUD, environmental FUD and the idea that crypto is only used for crime. 

The illicit transactions idea was given new oxygen when Janet Yellen repeated it in her Senate confirmation hearing this week. New research from Chainalysis shows, however, that the percentage of crypto volume involved in crime is decreasing.

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According to a Goldman insider, the investment bank will leap into crypto custody soon.

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io.

Today on the Brief: 

• Gary Gensler is officially Biden’s pick for SEC chairman
• Investors are betting against the U.S. dollar
• Grayscale has best day ever with $700 million in investment
• Ethereum reaches new all-time high 

Our main discussion: Goldman Sachs reportedly coming to crypto. 

Over the last year, many traditional financial institutions have recanted previous skepticism to join the bitcoin space. For most of that time, Goldman Sachs has been a noticeable holdout, saying as recently as last May that bitcoin and cryptocurrency weren’t an asset class. 

According to new reports from a Goldman insider, all that is finally changing as the bank prepares a crypto custody strategy. The change in attitude is inspired at least in part by the recent rulings from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. 

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This is an encore presentation of NLW’s first interview with macro analyst Lyn Alden, from May 2020. In it, they discuss:

• Why we’re at the end of a strong dollar cycle
• Why the Federal Reserve is terrified of the global dollar shortage
• The difference in creditor vs. debtor nations
• The concept of the Triffin dilemma 
• Why Japan has been able to print money without seeing rampant inflation 
• Why we have inflationary and deflationary forces competing to influence the U.S. economy 
• Why debt is going to matter more than ever 
• What alternatives to the USD system might look like

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A reading of the “Stone Ridge 2020 Shareholder Letter” by Ross Stevens.

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io.

This week’s Long Reads Sunday is a reading of the “Stone Ridge 2020 Shareholder Letter” by Ross Stevens, CEO and co-founder of Stone Ridge Asset Management, discussing the history of America, sound money and Stevens’ bitcoin “aha” moment.

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The second full business week of January has demonstrated many trends that NLW argues will shape bitcoin and crypto throughout the year.

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io.

On “The Breakdown’s” Weekly Recap, NLW argues that this week is exemplary of a set of trends that will define 2021, including:

• Market volatility
• Macro tailwinds 
• Convergence of crypto and traditional finance
• Regulatory battles and opportunities
• Strange categories of FUD

This week on The Breakdown:

Monday | Did This Bitcoin Cycle’s FUD Phase Just Begin?

Tuesday | Is China Poised to Nationalize Alibaba?

Wednesday | A New SEC Chair Who Actually Understands Bitcoin and Crypto?

Thursday | The Definitive Breakdown of All Bitcoin FUD, With Dan Held

Friday | Will Mayor Suarez’s Miami Be the First Major City to Buy Bitcoin?

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Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io.

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