Author: CoinDesk

The investment banking giant says the blockchain hype cycle has moved past inflated expectations and into the realm of being commercially viable. 

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Nexo.io and Elliptic.

Today on the Brief:

• Stocks down; bitcoin up
• Consumer confidence shaky as baking supplies demand grows 3,400%
• Bank for International Settlements and Swiss central bank to test CBDC this year

Our main discussion: JPM Coin. 

Initially announced in February 2019, JPMorgan’s JPM Coin is being launched for commercial use. In this episode, NLW looks at:

• The history of private currencies in the U.S.
• Why Libra was a starting gun for both governments and other private corporations
• How JPMorgan intends to make money from JPM Coin
• Why other investment banks might follow 

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As cases rise and the U.S. settles in for a fresh wave of COVID-19, the economic fallout from round one is still being felt, from hedge funds to bankruptcies and beyond. 

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Nexo.io and Elliptic.

Today on the Brief:

• Turkey’s real inflation rate 3x official number
• Hot new DeFi protocol Harvest Financial hacked
• Bitcoin whales hit largest number since 2016

Our main conversation is about the rise of a new wave of COVID-19 and the economic fallout we’re still trying to address. NLW discusses why we’re starting this next wave more emotionally drained, politically divided and economically fragile than we were in March.

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A reading of two recent op-eds on central bank digital currencies.

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Nexo.io and Elliptic.

For this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads two selections from CoinDesk’s op-ed section:

CBDCs Are Evolution, not Revolution - Benoit Coeure 

The US Risks Getting Left Behind on CBDCs - JP Schnapper-Casteras & Misha Guttentag

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A recap of an exceptionally bullish week for bitcoin and crypto as a whole. 

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Nexo.io and Elliptic.

On this week’s Breakdown weekly recap, NLW looks at:

• The initial price action that started the week
• Debates about whether BTC was thriving at the expense of alts and DeFi
• The PayPal news
• News of more public companies putting treasury reserves into BTC
• Paul Tudor Jones’ optimistic take on the human ingenuity driving bitcoin’s success

This week on The Breakdown:

Monday | A New ‘Bretton Woods’ Moment?

Tuesday | How Strong Is Bitcoin’s Push Above $12,000?

Wednesday | PayPal Adds Bitcoin: Most Bullish News of the Year?

Thursday | ‘Google Is One of the Most Important Antitrust Cases of All Time,’ With Matt Stoller

Friday | Why Fiats Are Failing in 2020

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From Brazil to Argentina to Turkey, bitcoin priced in local currencies is reaching all time highs. But is this a story of bitcoin succeeding, fiat failing or both? 

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Nexo.io and Elliptic.

Today on the Brief:

• DOJ crypto enforcement a “disaster” for privacy
• Ant’s blockchain tools pre-IPO
• Better news around jobless claims 

Our main discussion: fiat failures, 2020 edition. 

In this episode, NLW looks at a raft of geographies in which bitcoin has recently reached all-time highs, priced in the local currency. The story, he says, is about fiats floundering more than mispriced local bitcoin.

twitter.com/alistairmilne/status/1319170878765211648

Special focus on economic happenings in Brazil, Argentina and Turkey.

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The author of “Goliath” gives his take on the history of American antitrust politics and what it means for the just-announced Google case.

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Nexo.io and Elliptic.

Matt Stoller works with the American Economic Liberties Project and is the author of “Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy” as well as the popular Substack newsletter “BIG.”

In this conversation, he and NLW discuss the history of American antitrust sentiment and politics including:

• The origins of antitrust sentiment 
• How the “Watergate Babies” generation of Democrats turned away from antitrust sentiment 
• How the 1990s shifted power in favor of corporates and tech 
• Why the 2008-2009 crisis was a seminal moment in our attitudes towards big finance 
• The significance of the new antitrust case against Google

Find our guest online:

Twitter: @matthewstoller

Web: mattstoller.com

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Huge news broke this morning as PayPal announced that it would be offering buying, selling, and eventually merchant payments for bitcoin and other cryptos across its network. 

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Nexo.io and Elliptic.

In this late breaking Breakdown episode, NLW explores:

• The specifics of the news
• Why the scale, precedent and normalization are hugely bullish
• What some skeptics are saying
• Why it’s significant that PayPal is focused on the coming central bank digital currency era 

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Who has the most recent bitcoin move right, the bulls or the bears? 

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Nexo.io and Elliptic.

Today on the Brief:

• DOJ files biggest antitrust case in two decades against Google 
• Goldman Sachs’ 1MDB settlement 
• LINE’s new CBDC platform 

Our main discussion: bulls vs. bears as bitcoin passes $12K

Someone recently tweeted, “Bitcoin price has never been this high with such bearish sentiment.” 

On this episode, NLW looks at the bullish case (growth in open interest on CME backed by strong macro narrative around stimulus) and bearish case ($12K sell wall and bleeding from alts and DeFi).

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The IMF has said it’s time to re-evaluate the global economic order, but what does that really mean? 

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Nexo.io and Elliptic.

Today on the Brief:

• Chinese citizens less than impressed with DCEP trial 
• Is Filecoin the “Titanic” of ICOs?
• Mnuchin, Pelosi go one more round on stimulus 

Our main discussion: A new Bretton Woods moment? 

In a recent speech, the International Monetary Fund argued that the time to fundamentally re-evaluate the global economic order is here. Goldbugs see the potential to return to the gold standard, bitcoiners anticipate ever-growing stimulus and macro observers are betting on massive disruptions in the wake of central bank digital currencies.

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On Long Reads Sunday, a reading of a John Street Capital piece on the realities of a market characterized by zero-bound interest rates.

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Nexo.io and Elliptic.

On this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads: “Capital Allocation & Risk Asset Ramifications in a 0% Interest Rate World”

The piece examines how different asset classes – from stocks to bonds to bitcoin and beyond – fare in the context of a world where the Federal Reserve is determined to keep interest rates at or near zero for years to come.

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