The Breakdown

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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“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.

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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“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.

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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“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: Hiroshi Watanabe/DigitalVision/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk.

Dan Tapiero, founder of 10T, returns to “The Breakdown” to discuss:

• Investing $750 million into growth equity for digital asset ecosystem startups
• The number of crypto unicorns growing from 20 to 70 in a year 
• How institutional investor questions have changed over the last 12 months
• How regulatory headwinds are negatively impacting the U.S. crypto industry 
• Why the long-term macro environment is likely to stay positive for crypto for years to come 

Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/538vuul1PuorUDwgkC8JWF?si=ddSvD-HST2e_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M=   Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8   Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW

“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: Boris SV/Moment/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk.

Today on the Brief:

• NFT volume cools down but interest remains strong
• Mastercard is acquiring CipherTrace
• European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve begin preparing for asset purchase tapers this autumn 

Our main discussion is about the flow of regulators from the U.S. government into the crypto industry. NLW looks in particular at Brian Quintenz, who is joining Andreessen Horowitz, and Chris Giancarlo, the former CFTC chair whose new book is “CryptoDad: The Fight for the Future of Money.” 

Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/538vuul1PuorUDwgkC8JWF?si=ddSvD-HST2e_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M=   Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8   Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW

“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: Toya Sarno Jordan/Bloomberg/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk.

El Salvador made history on Tuesday, Sept. 7, when it became the first nation to make bitcoin legal tender. In this episode, NLW reviews the first day of bitcoin in El Salvador, including reports from the ground as well as the salty tears of anti-BTC libertarians. He also looks at new crypto legislation out of Panama. Finally, he covers a new bill to legalize and regulate bitcoin and crypto in Ukraine. 

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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: andreydayen/RooM/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk.

Today on “The Breakdown,” NLW briefly covers yesterday’s bitcoin price crash and why it was driven by market structure more than news. The main topic focuses on revelations from Coinbase that after months of engagement around its upcoming Lend product, the SEC is now threatening to sue. NLW examines the controversy from five dimensions:

• The argument for and against lending as a security
• The SEC’s pattern of regulation by litigation
• How the SEC is rewarding bad actors by punishing compliance
• The concerning surveillance implications of one of the SEC’s requests 
• Why these strong-arm tactics are doomed 

Should Coinbase take the battle to court? 

Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/538vuul1PuorUDwgkC8JWF?si=ddSvD-HST2e_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M=   Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8   Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW

“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: Alex Wong/Getty Images News, modified by CoinDesk.

El Salvador’s bitcoin legal-tender law goes into effect today. NLW looks at the recent controversy surrounding the law, including:

• Institutional controversy – why the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank don’t like the law 
• Bitcoiner skepticism – why some aren’t convinced the law should force merchants to accept BTC
• Authoritarian blues – why some are concerned with the Bukele government itself 

June 12th/Bitcoin Beach Breakdown episode: https://www.coindesk.com/podcasts/the-breakdown-with-nlw/bitcoin-is-economic-empowerment/

 

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This interview originally aired December 19th, 2020. 

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

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On this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads David Hoffman’s recent essay in Bankless “The Metaverse Emerges” 

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