The Breakdown

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. 

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

Today on the Brief:

• Initial jobless claims grow the most since March
• Biden unveils emergency relief plan
• Fed Chair Powell discusses CBDCs and stablecoins

Our main discussion: Is Miami about to put 1% of its treasury into bitcoin? 

Since December 2020 there has been a lot of conversation about whether Miami could become the next Silicon Valley, or at least recruit a big swath of entrepreneurial talent to set up shop. 

In this episode, NLW looks at how that discussion moved into the crypto realm and led to Mayor Suarez’s recent discussions about moving Miami’s treasury into bitcoin. He argues that the story is about the larger shifts in how cities and geographic regions compete for supremacy in the social media, remote work era.

On today’s episode of The Breakdown, NLW is joined by Dan Held, growth lead at Kraken and a serial bitcoin entrepreneur. 

As the market heats up, so, too, does the number of articles and tweets spreading FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt). Some of the FUD is new, much of it is old and all of it deserves a response. 

Dan and NLW break down 15 categories of FUD, including:

• Bitcoin is for criminals
• Bitcoin is backed by nothing/has no intrinsic value
• Tether manipulation
• Energy consumption
• Government bans 
• And more! 

Which are the most legitimate? Which are easily dismissed? Tune in to find out.

Find our guest online:

Twitter: @danheld

Today on the Brief:

• Visa drops $5.3B Plaid acquisition after DOJ antitrust suit
• ECB President Christine Lagarde discusses bitcoin and digital euro 
• Acting OCC chief Brian Brooks to step down this week 

Our main discussion: Gary Gensler rumored to be the new SEC Chair. In this episode, NLW discusses:

• Gensler’s background at Goldman, CFTC and MIT
• Gensler’s MIT course
• Previous statements on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple
• The crypto communities reaction to Gensler at the SEC 

Today on the Brief:

• Whales accumulated during yesterday’s crash 
• Kentucky legislators introduce bill to attract crypto miners
• UBS lowers the threshold for charging savers because of negative interest rates

Our main discussion: What China’s prospective nationalization of Alibaba has to do with the nation’s digital currency efforts. 

In this episode, NLW:

• Gives a background on China’s digital currency project
• Discusses why the DCEP is motivated by a larger attempt to internationalize the RMB
• Background on Alipay, Ant Financial and Alibaba
• How Alibaba founder Jack Ma annoyed the CCP and why he hasn’t been seen publicly in two months

Today on the brief:

• Trump ejected from social media 
• Bakkt confirms plans to go public via SPAC
• NYDIG buys Digital Assets Data

Our main discussion: Are we at the beginning of a new FUD cycle? 

In this episode, NLW looks at:

• What happened with bitcoin’s big price crash
• How the crypto community is reacting to the dip 
• New regulatory FUD out of the U.K.
• Why regulatory issues are likely to be this bull market’s “wall of worry”

On this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads two pieces from former bitcoin skeptics who have changed their mind about the asset. 

“Bitcoin Crushes Doubters as 224% Rally Proves It’s Here to Stay” by Ed van der Walt 

“Why I’ve Changed My Mind on Bitcoin” by Nick Maggiulli, COO of Ritholtz Wealth Management

On this edition of The Breakdown’s weekly recap, NLW looks at what was one of the most spectacular and surprising weeks in bitcoin and crypto history. Specifically, he discusses:

• Price action
• Macro tailwinds
• Regulatory shifts in surprise guidance from the OCC
• Retail investor momentum building

Today on the Brief:

• U.S. loses 140,000 jobs in December
• Chamath’s SoFi SPAC
• A SPAC for Bakkt

Our main discussion: upcoming stimulus plans 

As the dust (finally? sort of?) settles on elections that began last year, the Democrats are looking to jump right out of the gate with a new set of stimulus plans, including both payments to individuals as well as big infrastructure spending. 

In this episode, NLW discusses the specifics we know so far, the potential challenges to get these plans passed and what the implications for bitcoin might be.