The Breakdown

Bitcoin is having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day. Many are using the dump - which from a timing perspective aligns with a broader market selloff among Coronavirus fears - as a way to diminish the “bitcoin as a safe haven” narrative. 

In this episode, @nlw revisits that narrative and argues that it is uncomfortably bunched up with the uncorrelated asset narrative, or, as Chamath Palihapitiya calls it “schmuck insurance.”

This episode also covers:

• Central bank digital currency (CBDC) news: Canada says it doesn’t see the need right now but that could change if private cryptos get more traction, while China’s work on a digital yuan is paused due to Coronavirus shutdowns. 
• The six year anniversary of Mt. Gox’s lost 750,000 BTC coming to light.

Bitcoin is having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day. Many are using the dump - which aligns with a broader market selloff among Coronavirus fears - as a way to diminish the “bitcoin as a safe haven” narrative. 

In this episode, I revisit that narrative & argues that it is uncomfortably bunched up with the uncorrelated asset narrative, or, as Chamath Palihapitiya calls it “schmuck insurance.”

This episode also covers:

-CBDC news from Canada and China

-Mt Gox 6 yr anniversary

The spread of Coronavirus has dominated the news cycle across industries, but the discussion has been particularly fierce in both the finance and tech worlds, with crypto right in the lead. 

For a month or more, prominent crypto voices have been discussing the event in terms of skepticism of reported government cases, questions of market impact, and plans for personal preparation. 

I surveyed more than 1500 people on Crypto Twitter to ask why crypto was so interested in the Coronavirus. 

These were their top answers. 

This episode of The Breakdown also features an excerpt from Hidden Forces Ep 123: Market Nihilism: Price Discovery in a World Where Nothing Matters | Ben Hunt & Grant Williams 

The spread of Coronavirus has dominated the news cycle across industries, but the discussion has been particularly fierce in both the finance and tech worlds, with crypto right in the lead. 

For a month or more, prominent crypto voices have been discussing the event in terms of skepticism of reported government cases, questions of market impact, and plans for personal preparation. I surveyed >1500 people on Twitter to ask why crypto was so interested in the Coronavirus. 

These were their top answer

An incredible amount of work has gone into convincing institutional investors that bitcoin and crypto should be on their radar. Now that many are convinced, however, they face some significant limitations in the infrastructure. 

A new crypto bank out of Wyoming is designed to address those problems. Founded by Caitlin Long, Avanti is apply for a special purpose depository institution (SPDI) charter and already has 8 products in its pipeline not currently available to US investors. 

In this interview, Caitlin and @nlw discuss:

• Why Avanti is needed
• Why Avanti will have 100% of assets in reserve at all times
• Why the right model for crypto custody is more akin to valeting a car than current financial market models 
• Why building a crypto bank is important in the context of macro market turmoil
• How Coronavirus is exposing pre-existing problems in the global economy

Avanti is a newly announced crypto bank. In this interview, Avanti founder Caitlin Long and @nlw discuss:

Why Avanti is needed

Why Avanti will have 100% of assets in reserve at all times

Why the right model for crypto custody is more akin to valeting a car than current financial market models 

Why building a crypto bank is important in the context of macro market turmoil

How Coronavirus is exposing pre-existing problems in the global economy

The full week's episode run in one long-run, long-chill, long-sleep episode:

• Monday | Off
• Tuesday | Is It Exploitation Season for DeFi?

Wednesday | Chainlink's Sergey Nazarov on What DeFi Can Learn From Early Exchange Hacks

Thursday | Why We Should Stop Thinking of ‘Crypto’ as a Single Industry

Friday | Diagnosing the Dip: Why Today's Leading Exchanges Are Powerful, but Not Inevitable

The full week's episode run in one long-run, long-chill, long-sleep episode:

• Monday | Off
• Tuesday | Is It Exploitation Season for DeFi?
• Wednesday | Chainlink's Sergey Nazarov on What DeFi Can Learn From Early Exchange Hacks
• Thursday | Why We Should Stop Thinking of ‘Crypto’ as a Single Industry
• Friday | Diagnosing the Dip: Why Today's Leading Exchanges Are Powerful, but Not Inevitable

After settling in to the $10,000 price level, BTC suddenly and rapidly dipped more than 5% in an hour on Wednesday. As the market discusses possible explanations, some floated the unexpected simultaneous downtime of Binance and Coinbase as a causal factor. 

In this episode of The Breakdown, we discuss the power exchanges wield - both in terms of market liquidity as well as the ability to shape news cycles. The good news is that new funding for insurgent exchanges suggest that power today is not inevitable. 

Lastly, we discuss the latest in central bank digital currencies, with Sweden launching an e-krona pilot; a former head of China’s national bank saying Coronavirus could accelerate efforts; and a new member of the Libra Association. 

BTC rapidly dipped more than 5% in an hour on Wednesday w some floating the unexpected simultaneous downtime of Binance and Coinbase as a causal factor.

In this episode of The Breakdown, we discuss the power exchanges wield - both in terms of market liquidity as well as the ability to shape news cycles. The good news is that new funding for insurgent exchanges suggest that power today is not inevitable.

Lastly, we discuss the latest in central bank digital currencies.