The Breakdown

Today on the Brief:

• U.S. President Trump signs order banning Chinese apps
• Initial jobless claims hold steady at 787,000
• Elon Musk becomes the world’s richest person

Our main discussion: Can bitcoin just keep going up? 

In this episode, NLW breaks down:

• What’s driving the rally, including the growth of institutional buyers, burgeoning retail FOMO, Asian markets and more 
• Why some indicators are pointing towards a trader move into altcoins 
• Why, despite the rapid growth, bitcoin remains undervalued 

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Today on the Brief:

• ShapeShift goes full DEX
• Neil Young and the changing business of music
• China stocks delisted from NYSE

Our main discussion: What are the implications of Georgia’s runoff elections for bitcoin and markets as a whole? 

In this episode, NLW discusses:

• The immediate response of Crypto Twitter to the victory for Dems
• Why Kelly Loeffler was a disappointing industry rep in the Senate 
• Which stocks are going up on the news and why
• Why a Democrat Senate majority is driving up inflation expectations
• Why discussions of UBI and digital dollars and more in play than ever 
• Why bitcoin stands to be supercharged by the coming macro environment

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Yesterday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released Interpretive Letter 1174. The letter allows banks to participate as nodes in “independent node verification networks” (which you might better know as blockchain networks) as well as use stablecoins for payments settlement. 

In this episode of The Breakdown, NLW looks at: 

• Crypto Twitter’s response to the news 
• A review of key passages from the letter
• The response of critics
• The implications for CBDCs and the geopolitical battle between the U.S. dollar and China’s emerging digital currency 

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The end of December was a momentous time in bitcoin’s history. Not content to clear the psychological barrier of $20,000, bitcoin’s price smashed up almost all the way to $30,000, although it would take the turn to the new year to hit that new high-water mark. 

In this episode, NLW looks at interpretations of why bitcoin is rising, why it dipped today and what analysts and investors think will happen next. This analysis includes:

• Evidence of institutional FOMO including a rise in bitcoin whale addresses
• Massive outflows from Coinbase Pro over the weekend 
• The impact of derivatives liquidations that occurred Monday morning 
• Commentary from OTC desks on Q1 2021 possibilities

Tony Greer is a macro analyst and author of the Morning Navigator Newsletter. In this conversation, he and NLW discuss how central banks continued to kick the can down the road on debt as well as unexpected sources of strength for the economy heading into 2021.

Find our guest online: @TgMacro

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Dan Tapiero is an investor and entrepreneur with deep experience in gold and bitcoin. In this conversation with NLW he discusses the new group of institutional investors coming into the space and why, for them, bitcoin represents much more than just a hedge against possible future inflation.

Find our guest online: @DTAPCAP

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The wealth adviser and CEO of Onramp Invest discusses why the Federal Reserve continues to ignore its role in income inequality and what the bitcoin community can do to be a force for positive change.

Find our guest online: @TR401

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=   Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW   The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

Alyse Killeen is the founder and managing partner of StillMark, and has been investing in bitcoin companies since 2013. While much of the conversation this year has been about high level narratives and new institutional investors, Alyse breaks down the technical advances that happened this year.

Find our guest online: @AlyseKilleen

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=   Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW   The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

Brent Johnson is an investor at Santiago Capital and the creator of the well-known “Dollar Milkshake Theory.” In this conversation with NLW, he discusses what 2020 taught us about the state of the dollar around the world.

Find our guest online: @santiagoaufund

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=   Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW   The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com

Daniel Lacalle is the chief economist for Tressis SV and a well-known economics personality. In this conversation with NLW he discusses the devastation of small businesses in America and around the world and why the recovery could be less even than people think in the year ahead.

Find our guest online: @dlacalle_IA

The Breakdown is produced and distributed by CoinDesk.com