The Breakdown
Blockworks
The Breakdown dives into the deepest topics in crypto, blockchain, and the macro forces shaping markets and power structures. Each episode breaks down complex ideas into clear, grounded analysis — separating signal from noise across crypto, finance, and geopolitics.
Hosted by David Canellis, The Breakdown features explainers, interviews, and conversations with the people building, regulating, and challenging the financial system.
A Blockworks podcast.
Subscribe to The Breakdown newsletter: https://the-breakdown.carrd.co/
Hosted by David Canellis, The Breakdown features explainers, interviews, and conversations with the people building, regulating, and challenging the financial system.
A Blockworks podcast.
Subscribe to The Breakdown newsletter: https://the-breakdown.carrd.co/
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 5, 2026 • 1h 4min
Introducing: Inflection Point | The Crypto-TradFi Convergence
Michael Mark Antonio, Head of DeFi at Galaxy Digital, bridges DeFi to institutions. Matt Hogan, CIO at Bitwise, runs large crypto ETF operations. David Lawan, Head of Research at Anchorage Digital, focuses on custody and institutional infrastructure. They discuss TradFi and crypto converging, ETF-driven flows, DeFi’s institutional case, market-structure shifts, options and yield dynamics, and onchain finance opportunities.
Mar 3, 2026 • 31min
Crypto VC Is Not The Problem | The Breakdown
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital and crypto investor/commentator. He breaks down token premium, price-to-fee frameworks, and when fundamentals actually matter. He also covers why retail sees early tokens, disclosure and market-structure issues, and how AI may reshape venture dynamics.
Feb 26, 2026 • 33min
Is Crypto Becoming Fintech? | Nick Almond
Nick Almond, Head of Governance at the Judo Foundation and noted commentator on stablecoins and DAOs, digs into the crypto–fintech convergence. He discusses stablecoin liquidity, whether value accrues onchain or in centralized platforms, the rise of fintech walled gardens, and how token models and DAOs could reshape capital formation.
5 snips
Feb 24, 2026 • 24min
Fintech Might Absorb Crypto | The Breakdown
Nick Armand, head of governance at the JITO Foundation and crypto governance commentator, joins to debate whether fintech will domesticate crypto or make it mainstream. Short takes cover fintech absorbing startups, incumbents adopting stablecoins and custody, PayPal’s tokenization signal, and whether grassroots DAOs will keep crypto’s edge. Conversations about marketing, on‑ramps, and who truly owns user relationships.
14 snips
Feb 19, 2026 • 28min
Crypto Can Build The Agent Economy | The Breakdown
Daniel Shapiro, founder/investor focused on AI and crypto, explains why the two may converge. He covers AI-native payments and agent economies. He explores identity, privacy tech and data markets. He outlines infrastructure and tokenization opportunities for agent builders.
Feb 17, 2026 • 27min
Crypto, AI and the Permanent Underclass | The Breakdown
Daniel Shapiro, Blockworks Research analyst who studies crypto and AI, breaks down how primitives could reshape identity, payments, privacy, and on‑chain agents. Short takes on tokenized compute, agent protocols, and what infrastructure needs to enable a killer use case. A brisk tour of the tech that might reroute value in an AI-driven world.
9 snips
Feb 12, 2026 • 36min
Crypto Can’t Accept That It’s a Subculture | The Breakdown | Full Interview
Paul Dylan-Ennis, researcher on crypto culture and decentralization, critiques token economies and DAO dynamics. He highlights decentralization theater, the tension between cypherpunk roots and degen financialization. Talks about public goods, Gitcoin lessons, limits of mainstream user adoption, and how centralized tech undermines decentralization.
11 snips
Feb 10, 2026 • 27min
Crypto’s Ownership Problem | The Breakdown
Paul Dylan-Ennis, a lecturer at University College Dublin who studies token economics and crypto culture, joins to debate what it means to own a token. Short takes cover ownership versus access, onchain versus offchain rights, regulatory classifications, and tensions between cultural projects and financialization. The conversation homes in on sovereignty, governance limits, and how markets demand transparency.
9 snips
Feb 5, 2026 • 24min
The Myth of the “Most Used” Blockchain | The Breakdown
Nick Almond, head of governance at JITO Foundation and crypto governance practitioner, joins to discuss network trajectories and decentralization trade-offs. They question the “most used” chain label. Conversation covers flawed usage metrics, revenue versus adoption narratives, monolithic vs modular scaling, and how different chains may settle into distinct roles.
15 snips
Feb 3, 2026 • 27min
Why Privacy Coins Aren’t Enough | The Breakdown
Andrew M. Bailey, philosophy professor and Senior Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, discusses privacy in crypto and why on-chain privacy has limits. He contrasts protocol freedom with app-layer KYC choke points. He explores running nodes, mining as KYC-free onboarding, Monero vs Bitcoin tradeoffs, and ideas to make privacy economically attractive.
