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Blockworks

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/

The Breakdown

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 Chartered’s bearish short-term Bitcoin call.

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Democrats Blow Up at Crypto Executives Over Market Structure Bill

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.

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Is the Gold to Bitcoin Rotation Underway?

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 decentralization just as regulators and institutions weigh the next phase of the market.

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Why the Internet Crash Made Bitcoin Look Stronger

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 crypto—and China clamps down on tech giants issuing stablecoins while Japan’s banks push forward.

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Is It All Over for Crypto?

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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The 5 Most Important Stories in Crypto Last Week

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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The Tokenization Era Begins (says Fink)

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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The Short, Brutal Bear Market of October ‘25

NLW and Scott Melker count down the five most important stories in the crypto week. 

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Could This Actually Be An Amazing Setup for Bitcoin?

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 crisis and global debt pressures fit in, and what the IMF’s latest warnings mean for the next phase of this trade.

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Wall Street Discovers the “Debasement Trade”

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, S&P Global’s new crypto index, BNY Mellon’s tokenized deposits, and Christine Lagarde’s latest anti-Bitcoin comments.

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ICE Invests $2 Billion in Polymarket

Bitcoin’s September rally finally stumbled, with a 3.5% drop triggering $1.7B in long liquidations—the biggest of the year. While traders were caught offside, on-chain data shows holders aren’t selling, ETF flows remain mixed, and big treasury buys continue. NLW breaks down why this reset matters, how leverage is shaping the market, and what it means as we head into Q4.

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Bitcoin’s September Shakeout: $1.7B in Liquidations Sets Stage for Q4

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