The Breakdown
A daily analysis of macroeconomics, bitcoin, geopolitics and big picture power shifts, hosted by Nathaniel Whittemore @nlw. The Breakdown is part of Blockworks. Subscribe to The Breakdown newsletter: https://the-breakdown.carrd.co/
Episodes
October 24, 2025 • 10 mins
A tense closed-door meeting between Senate Democrats and crypto executives erupted into frustration and accusations after the leak of a draft market structure proposal seen as a de facto DeFi ban. NLW breaks down what went wrong in the meeting, why trust between Democrats and the crypto industry is fraying, and how the stalled bill could slip past year-end. Plus, new GOP efforts to modernize financial crime reporting laws, the bank...
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October 23, 2025 • 11 mins
Gold’s record-breaking rally just snapped with its biggest one-day drop in over a decade, and now traders are asking whether the long-anticipated rotation from gold into Bitcoin has begun. In today’s episode, NLW breaks down what caused gold’s blow-off top, why even small capital shifts from the $20 trillion gold market could send Bitcoin soaring, and how new Fed policy, Tether’s explosive growth, and whale flows into ETFs are resh...
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October 22, 2025 • 10 mins
A massive AWS outage took down huge portions of the internet this week, and crypto wasn’t spared — Coinbase’s Base network went offline, MetaMask users saw zero balances, and much of the industry’s infrastructure stumbled. On today’s Breakdown, NLW explores what the event revealed about crypto’s dependence on centralized services, why Bitcoin and Ethereum’s uptime tell a different story, and how it’s fueling renewed debate about de...
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October 21, 2025 • 9 mins
After a brutal flash crash and a week of weak trading, many in the crypto world are asking if the cycle is done. Bitcoin has held above $100K, but altcoins have been crushed, sentiment has cratered, and major voices like Chris Burniske and Ansem are turning bearish. Still, some analysts think we’re just seeing the most hated rally in history. Plus: Stripe’s $5B Tempo blockchain raises big questions about the future of institutional...
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October 18, 2025 • 25 mins
From dustups with Binance to Larry Fink's tokenization call, NLW and Scott Melker break down the stories that shaped the crypto week.
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October 16, 2025 • 12 mins
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says the tokenization of all assets has begun—from real estate to ETFs—and calls on Washington to accelerate digital asset regulation. We break down what this means for markets, crypto, and the future of finance, plus the DOJ’s record $14B Bitcoin seizure and Jerome Powell hinting that quantitative tightening may soon end.
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October 14, 2025 • 12 mins
Markets melted down this weekend after Trump’s surprise tariff announcement triggered the largest crypto liquidation in history. Stocks plunged, altcoins went to zero, and suspicions of insider trading swirled — but by Monday, the “bear market” was already over. NLW breaks down what really happened, who might have caused it, and why this flash crash could reshape crypto market structure.
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October 10, 2025 • 21 mins
NLW and Scott Melker count down the five most important stories in the crypto week.
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October 10, 2025 • 12 mins
Bitcoin’s October rally isn’t just another crypto surge — it’s part of what JPMorgan calls the Debasement Trade. As gold spikes and the dollar weakens, major banks and economists are finally voicing fears long held by Bitcoiners: runaway deficits, fading Fed independence, and a loss of faith in fiat currencies. Today NLW unpacks why Wall Street is suddenly embracing Bitcoin as a hedge against currency decay, how Japan’s yield crisi...
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October 9, 2025 • 10 mins
The parent company of the New York Stock Exchange just made a $2 billion investment in Polymarket, valuing the prediction-market platform at $9 billion and signaling a huge shift toward crypto-native financial infrastructure. NLW breaks down what the deal means for institutional adoption, how it compares to ICE’s previous crypto efforts, and why this could mark a new phase for decentralized finance. Plus: Bitcoin’s brief pullback, ...
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October 8, 2025 • 10 mins
Galaxy Digital just launched Galaxy One — a platform merging crypto, stocks, and yield accounts into a single financial hub. Coinbase is pursuing a banking charter. Stripe and stablecoin issuers are driving a yield war that could upend global banking profits. Standard Chartered warns of $1T in emerging-market capital flight to stablecoins. From TradFi’s defensive moves to FinTech’s stablecoin play, today’s Breakdown explores how th...
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October 7, 2025 • 11 mins
Bitcoin hit a new all-time high over the weekend, surging past $125,000 and capping its strongest week since May. Analysts point to ETF inflows, a weakening dollar, and broad asset rotation as drivers behind the move — while skeptics warn of monetary panic and late-cycle exuberance. In today’s episode, NLW explores whether this is a true macro melt-up, what it means for institutional adoption, and how traditional portfolios are evo...
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October 4, 2025 • 19 mins
On today’s Breakdown, NLW kicks off the first Friday Five of October with Bitcoin’s soaring price action. From October’s uncanny seasonality and ETF inflow momentum to government shutdown delays and Citi and JPMorgan’s bold predictions, the conversation explores why markets seem determined to shrug off risk. NLW also covers the potential regulatory fallout of a prolonged shutdown, new SEC-CFTC collaboration, Kraken’s $20B raise, an...
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October 3, 2025 • 11 mins
October has a reputation as Bitcoin’s strongest month, and so far 2025 is no exception. After a choppy September, BTC is already pushing back toward new all-time highs, shrugging off a government shutdown and showing signs of strong demand. Analysts are debating whether this is the setup for another monster Q4, with some even eyeing $200,000 by year end. We also look at how the shutdown is stalling crypto ETF approvals, new IRS gui...
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October 2, 2025 • 11 mins
As of midnight, the U.S. government has officially shut down after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach a last-minute deal. In today’s Breakdown, NLW explores the political brinkmanship behind the shutdown, how the White House may use it to reshape federal programs, and the macroeconomic fallout as millions of workers go unpaid. From consumer confidence and labor market risks to gold at all-time highs, Bitcoin resilience, and ...
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October 1, 2025 • 10 mins
After years of turf wars, the SEC and CFTC are finally signaling a new era of collaboration. At their first joint roundtable in 14 years, agency heads emphasized coordination over consolidation, while industry voices clashed over tokenization standards and compliance. We also break down the SEC’s first crypto no-action letter in five years, Binance’s new white-label push for TradFi, SWIFT’s blockchain integration plans, and the lat...
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September 30, 2025 • 8 mins
Fortune revealed that Kraken quietly raised $500 million at a $15 billion valuation—its first significant raise in over a decade—as the exchange eyes a 2026 IPO. Bloomberg followed up with reports of another potential $200–300 million round at a $20 billion valuation. We dig into what this means for Kraken’s future, the escalating scale of Tether’s $500 billion fundraise, growing scrutiny of crypto treasury companies, and SEC Commi...
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September 27, 2025 • 22 mins
In this week’s Friday Five, we dive into Tether’s jaw-dropping $500B valuation bid, the SEC’s surprise innovation exemption, bipartisan momentum on a market structure bill, Ethereum’s latest Wall Street narrative, and breaking news that even Vanguard is finally letting customers buy crypto ETFs. Plus, what Bitcoin’s bloody September tells us about the cycle ahead.
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September 26, 2025 • 10 mins
Coinbase and Cloudflare are pushing forward with X402, a new crypto-powered payments protocol for AI agents. Could agent-to-agent transactions reshape e-commerce and the web itself? Meanwhile, Tom Lee is pitching Ethereum as Wall Street’s neutral chain of choice—even as critics push back—and Michael Saylor doubles down on Bitcoin as the true foundation of digital capital markets.
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September 25, 2025 • 10 mins
Tether is reportedly courting outside investors for the first time—at a staggering $500 billion valuation. In today’s Breakdown, NLW digs into Bloomberg’s report on Tether’s $15–20 billion fundraise, why Cantor Fitzgerald is leading the deal, and what this unprecedented move could mean for crypto, stablecoins, and global finance. Plus, updates on CZ’s venture fund and new SEC and CFTC regulatory initiatives.
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