The Breakdown

Today’s Long Reads Sunday is a reading of Andy Mukherjee’s piece: “Why Emerging Markets Are Wary of a Modern Monetary Fix”. The argument is that while Western governments debate just how far we can take the idea of money printing without paying a dubious price, for emerging-market governments there simply isn’t the same capacity to print their way out of problems.

Hany Rashwan is the CEO of Amun/21Shares, the creator of a variety of publicly traded crypto products with over $100 million assets under management.  In this conversation, he and NLW discuss: How he was introduced to bitcoin by Tim Draper in 2012 How the Egyptian revolution and challenges that followed influenced his thinking  How a 48% overnight devaluation of the Egyptian pound created the “aha” moment around bitcoin How bitcoin could become the global reserve currency  Find our guest online: Twitter: twitter.com/hany Website: 21shares.com

Emil Kalinowski is the host of “Making Sense/Eurodollar University” collaborations with Jeff Snider.  In this illuminating conversation, he and NLW discuss: How the global monetary order changed over the last 50 years The exact moment the world demonstrated it had too little money Why bitcoin and MMT are competing to shape the next generation of monetary thinking  Why a big crash is coming, but we’ll be better on the other side

As the U.S. election picture starts to become more clear, bitcoin has smashed through $15,000 – its highest price since 2017’s record-breaking run. Alongside the price action has come a wave of mainstream media coverage.  In this special he-was-supposed-to-be-on-vacation episode, NLW breaks down Twitter’s response and shares interpretations, including: “Quietest bull run ever” Stimulus on the way Halving bull redemption Death of the nation-state  Start of a reflexive cycle It feels real

Jim Epstein is the executive editor of Reason TV and podcasts, and the producer of the recent documentary “Cypherpunks Write Code.”  In this conversation, he gives NLW a behind the scenes look on the interviews and conversations that went into the documentary, including how the cypherpunks started, schisms in the movement, and how the movement lives on today.  Watch “Cypherpunks Write Code” Part 1: youtu.be/YWh6Yzr12iQ Part 2: youtu.be/n4qonsvSgAg Part 3: youtu.be/lv8OFSWZkGs Part 4: youtu.be/HDKQulqVCQg Find Jim online: twitter.com/jimepstein

Jacob Goldstein is one of the hosts of NPR’s Planet Money. He is also the author of the new book, “Money: A True Story of a Made Up Thing.”  In this conversation, he and NLW discuss: How China invented paper money and then forgot about it for centuries Why the invention of the lightbulb was a pivotal money history moment  How money market funds set the stage for the Great Financial Crisis  Where bitcoin fits in the world that comes next: without cash, without banks and with government printing Find our guest online: Twitter: twitter.com/jacobgoldstein

Today on the Brief: The digital euro is closer than ever Checking in on European COVID-19 lockdowns Economic events this week that aren’t the election Our main discussion: Which U.S. election outcome is better for bitcoin?  Poll: https://twitter.com/nlw/status/1320884275110137863 After a surprisingly close Twitter poll with more than 1,600 respondents answering the question “Is Trump or Biden better for bitcoin?”, NLW breaks down the most common themes, including: The Senate matters more  Anti-encryption history  And of course… Honey Badger Don’t Care

On this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW diverts from our normal opinion and long-form essay to pursue Grayscale’s recent investor reports. In its survey of investors, Grayscale found more interest in bitcoin investing than ever before, with a significant amount of the growth in interest being driven by economic and monetary policy following the coronavirus pandemic. scribd.com/document/481729535/Grayscale-2020-Bitcoin-Investor-Study   

On this week’s weekly recap, NLW looks at: Bitcoin’s resilience in the face of a week where many investors went risk off, causing a drop in stocks and gold JPMorgan’s dramatic three-year attitude shift around bitcoin and crypto  Iran stockpiling bitcoin to be able to pay for imports A new round of COVID-19 lockdowns and the stimulus that will follow

One of the most powerful aspects of bitcoin is its mythology.  In this episode, NLW explores the 12th anniversary of the Bitcoin white paper and the choices that went into its release date.  Whether it was something to do with the Reformation or an allusion to the longstanding pagan tradition of Samhain, the one thing that’s clear is the choice adds all the more mystique to bitcoin’s incredible origins.