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PODCAST

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/

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All Episodes

12:10

Bitcoin’s Worst November in Years

The Breakdown ·

2025/12/02

November just logged Bitcoin’s ugliest performance since 2018, with a seasonally strong month instead turning into a mini crypto winter driven by thin liquidity, excess leverage, and global macro jitters from Japan to the Fed. This episode digs into what really caused the drawdown, whether the pain is flushing out the froth ahead of a healthier 2026, and how to think about the latest macro correlations—plus a fresh round of Tether FUD, new clarity from MicroStrategy on what would actually make them

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11:39

Bitcoin’s Fragile Recovery

The Breakdown ·

2025/11/26

Bitcoin is climbing back from Friday’s drop, but the bounce looks weak and uncertain. Liquidity is shallow, flows are scattered, and the futures market just saw one of its sharpest resets of the cycle. Analysts say consolidation is more likely than a clean reversal, even as rate-cut odds rise and long-term holders accumulate. Institutional sentiment is mixed, CME derivatives are hitting records, and ETF flows remain soft, leaving a market that feels steadier than last week but far from confident the

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10:17

Scott Besson Walks Into a Bitcoin Bar

The Breakdown ·

2025/11/25

Bitcoin steadied after a brutal week that saw cascading liquidations, battered ETFs, and growing questions about whether the drawdown was macro-driven rather than crypto-specific. Analysts are watching for early bottom signals as funding rates flip negative, long-term buyers nibble, and headline flows finally stabilize. But the bigger story is the macro backdrop: AI stocks sliding, liquidity tightening, Fed speakers clashing, and the White House sending Scott Besson on another weekend media

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30:01

The Five Most Important Stories This Week

The Breakdown ·

2025/11/23

NLW and Scott Melker cover why this may be the first baby bear market in our new tradfi integrated paradigm.Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBreakdownBW Subscribe to the newsletter:

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9:48

[CORRECT] Fed Minutes Slam the Door on Rate...

The Breakdown ·

2025/11/22

The latest Fed minutes show a deeply divided committee but a clear signal: no December rate cut is coming. Markets reacted fast, sending Bitcoin tumbling to new lows as leveraged traders piled in and ETF investors pulled out. NLW unpacks what the minutes reveal about the economy, why rate expectations are shifting, and how this is shaping crypto’s end-of-year outlook—including Kraken’s IPO filing and a major Bitcoin bet from Abu Dhabi. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast:

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9:34

Bitcoin’s Bottom Watch Begins

The Breakdown ·

2025/11/20

Bitcoin’s brutal drawdown has traders asking whether the market finally found its bottom, with price testing $90K multiple times, sentiment crushed into extreme fear, ETF flows bleeding out, futures slipping into backwardation, and institutions stepping back; in today’s episode NLW breaks down the case for and against a bottom through technicals, macro shifts, leveraged positioning, while also covering Kraken’s $800M fundraise with Citadel involvement, Tether’s strategic investment in Ledn, new OCC

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10:23

Why Coinbase’s First ICO Fell Flat

The Breakdown ·

2025/11/19

A look at why the long-awaited return of ICOs to the US started with a whimper, not a bang. The debut sale on Coinbase’s new platform underperformed expectations, raising questions about demand for new L1s, tokenomics, and whether retail ever really came back this cycle. Plus, microstrategy’s latest massive Bitcoin buy, trouble in its preferred stock, CBOE’s move into regulated perps, and a grim turn for BTC price action.Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast:

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12:06

The Bitcoin Bears Are Back In Town

The Breakdown ·

2025/11/18

The crypto market is facing a renewed period of intense fear as Bitcoin turned red on the year, briefly dropping below $93,000 amid a 10% weekly drawdown and the Fear & Greed Index hitting extreme lows. NLW explores whether this 25% correction marks the start of a traditional bear market or is simply Bitcoin transitioning into a more institutional asset with a new, potentially less cyclical return profile, noting the strange dissonance where positive structural news—like the Czech Central Bank

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23:49

The Week Crypto Moved Forward While Prices Fell Behind

The Breakdown ·

2025/11/17

Extreme fear grips the market and Bitcoin dips into the mid-$90Ks, but the real story is everything happening underneath the sell-off. This Friday 5 breaks down the heavy wallet distribution, the liquidation wave, and why short-term price pain contrasts so sharply with long-term structural progress — from new SEC/CFTC clarity efforts to bipartisan draft legislation, from Coinbase’s launchpad experiment to JPMorgan’s deposit token push. A clear look at the week when crypto quietly advanced despite

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11:37

What the End of the Shutdown Really Means for Crypto

The Breakdown ·

2025/11/14

NLW looks at what the end of the 43-day government shutdown means for crypto, from the CFTC finally moving toward a confirmed chair and opening the door to regulated spot markets, to the SEC racing to revive its tokenization and ETF agenda. He breaks down how Congress is picking up the stalled market-structure bill, what renewed Treasury spending means for liquidity, and why macro uncertainty is rising even as Washington gets back to work.Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast:

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11:31

Did the US Steal $13 Billion in Bitcoin? China Says Yes

The Breakdown ·

2025/11/13

China is accusing the US of hacking a major Bitcoin mining pool in 2020 and stealing 127,000 BTC—now worth more than $13 billion. NLW breaks down the origins of the Labuyan hack, why the coins later appeared in DOJ-linked wallets, the allegations surrounding Chinese billionaire Chen Ji, and what this fight reveals about Bitcoin’s role in rising US–China tensions. Plus, a quick look at Coinbase’s move to revive US token sales. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast:

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12:54

Bitcoin’s $100K Test and the Return of Stimmy Checks

The Breakdown ·

2025/11/11

After one of Bitcoin’s sharpest sell-offs of the cycle, sentiment across crypto turned fearful as whales dumped billions and ETFs saw record outflows. But a weekend surge of political and fiscal news — from Trump’s proposed $2,000 “tariff dividend” to 50-year mortgages and a government-reopening deal — reignited markets and sent Bitcoin rebounding. NLW breaks down what’s driving the volatility, how institutional analysts are recalibrating their price targets, and why macro liquidity may still be the

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19:36

Wall Street’s Crypto Push, Western Union’s...

The Breakdown ·

2025/11/01

On this Halloween Friday Five, NLW and Scott Melker break down a wild week in macro and crypto. The Fed’s latest meeting left markets confused about future rate cuts, while Wall Street and legacy payment giants doubled down on digital assets. ICE partners with Polymarket to explore tokenized collateral, Mastercard eyes a $2B crypto acquisition, and even Western Union is launching its own stablecoin. Plus, Solana ETFs crush expectations, and what this cycle’s institutional dominance means for the

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10:21

Fed Cuts as Expected, But Powell Keeps Markets Guessing

The Breakdown ·

2025/10/31

Markets got the rate cut they expected — but not the clarity they wanted. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stunned investors by signaling that December’s cut is “far from a foregone conclusion,” while also announcing an end to quantitative tightening. With two dissents on the committee and growing confusion over data gaps from the government shutdown, Powell’s cautious tone left markets guessing. Stocks whipsawed, Bitcoin fell, and questions mounted about liquidity risk and the so-called “AI bubble.” Today

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12:02

Polymarket’s $9B Comeback: Prediction Markets Return...

The Breakdown ·

2025/10/30

Polymarket is preparing to relaunch in the U.S. after years in regulatory exile, now armed with a CFTC-compliant license and a $9B valuation. The move signals a new era for prediction markets—blurring the line between crypto, sports betting, and social platforms. Plus: Visa’s stablecoin expansion, Western Union’s on-chain pivot, and BlackRock’s Larry Fink calls Bitcoin an “asset of fear.”Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube:

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10:29

Will Bitcoin Ever Fall Below $100K Again?

The Breakdown ·

2025/10/29

Standard Chartered’s Jeff Kendrick says if this week goes well, Bitcoin may never drop below $100,000 again. NLW breaks down the key macro catalysts — a dovish Fed, a potential U.S.–China trade thaw, and tech earnings from Microsoft, Meta, Google, Apple, and Amazon — that could make this the decisive week for markets. Plus, updates on MicroStrategy’s credit downgrade, new Solana and Litecoin ETFs, and Coinbase’s major partnerships with Apollo and Citi.Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the

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9:17

Bitcoin Surges on Hopes of a China Deal

The Breakdown ·

2025/10/28

Bitcoin and risk assets jumped as the U.S. and China appeared to reach a framework agreement that takes 100% tariffs and rare earth restrictions off the table. NLW breaks down what the potential trade deal means for markets, why optimism is back, and how JPMorgan’s move to accept Bitcoin and Ethereum as loan collateral signals a major shift in traditional finance’s relationship with crypto. Plus, new controversy over Binance’s lobbying spend and Trump’s CFTC pick.Enjoying this content?

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25:37

The Five Most Important Stories in Crypto

The Breakdown ·

2025/10/25

NLW and Scott Melker chop up another week, with a big discussion of the controversial CZ pardon. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBreakdownBW Subscribe to the newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thebreakdown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join the discussion:

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10:23

Democrats Blow Up at Crypto Executives Over Market...

The Breakdown ·

2025/10/24

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 banking lobby’s fight against stablecoin interest, and Standard

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11:11

Is the Gold to Bitcoin Rotation Underway?

The Breakdown ·

2025/10/23

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 reshaping the balance between crypto and traditional finance.Enjoying

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2,022 results

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