Podcast
The Breakdown
Hosted by Blockworks · EN
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/
87episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Venice Is Now a Crypto-AI Unicorn — But Its Token Tanked 50%
2w ago00:30:24Tap to summarizeVVV is down 50% on news that should be good for Venice. David unpacks why — covering the token vs. equity distinction, Dragonfly's reasoning, and what the onchain data says about how many people are actually using Venice's paid features right now. FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW › The Breakdown Newsletter — https://blockworks.com/newsletter/the-breakdown DISCLAIMER As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice.
Transcribe →2 Groups Now Control Ethereum's Future. Here's What They Want.
2w ago00:34:46Tap to summarizeDavid sits down with Paul Dylan-Ennis — lecturer at University College Dublin and member of the Ethereum Foundation’s Silviculture Society — to map the split between the EF and the newly-formed ETH Labs. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (00:41) EF Silviculture Society (03:28) Full Cypherpunk (14:15) Roadmaps and Governance (17:58) Capture Resistance Concerns (24:19) What is Ethereum Success (27:13) New Primitives and AI (32:32) Ossification Timeline FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › Paul Dylan-Ennis — https://x.com/post_polar_ › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW › The Breakdown Newsletter — https://blockworks.com/newsletter/the-breakdown DISCLAIMER As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice.
Transcribe →Binance Needs A Friend in The European Union
3w ago00:29:46Tap to summarizeBinance is out of the EU as of July 1 after its MICA license application in Greece was rejected. David runs through who is and isn't licensed under MICA, checks Blockworks Research for Binance's actual spot market share (~33%), and looks at whether the outflow data suggests real damage. Then: the US government is now effectively approving AI model releases — Anthropic's Mythos 5 is live for a whitelist of 100+ orgs, Fable 5 still blocked, and OpenAI just did the same thing with GPT-V.Sol. David draws the parallel to how regulation changed crypto. Finally: Meta is building a prediction market app called Arena, with Zuck reportedly pursuing partnerships with Polymarket and Kaoshi. David checks Polymarket and Kaoshi's open interest data and asks whether Meta is just late to the party again. TIMESTAMPS: [To be filled in] FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW › The Breakdown Newsletter — https://blockworks.com/newsletter/the-breakdown DISCLAIMER As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice.
Transcribe →How Strategy Insiders Insulated Themselves From the Crash
3w ago00:21:36Tap to summarizeFOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW › The Breakdown Newsletter — https://blockworks.com/newsletter/the-breakdown DISCLAIMER As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice.
Transcribe →Searching for the Ethereum Foundation's Remaining Cash
3w ago00:23:35Tap to summarizeFOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW › The Breakdown Newsletter — https://blockworks.com/newsletter/the-breakdown DISCLAIMER As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice.
Transcribe →Is Strategy Really the Next Terra Luna?
4w ago00:27:35Tap to summarizeStrategy’s STRC is still trading below its $100 target and has drawn comparisons to Terra Luna. David walks through how Terra Luna actually imploded, why Strategy's flywheel is meaningfully different, and the real problem he sees underneath it all. Enjoy! FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW › The Breakdown Newsletter — https://blockworks.com/newsletter/the-breakdown DISCLAIMER As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice.
Transcribe →The History of Standard Chartered Megabullish Price Predictions
Jun 1700:18:35Tap to summarizeStandard Chartered just put a $100 price target on Uniswap by 2030 — a 40× move from current levels. David walks through the call, the tokenization thesis underpinning it, and how Standard Chartered's past calls on Bitcoin, ETH, XRP, BNB and AVAX have actually played out. FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW › The Breakdown Newsletter — https://blockworks.com/newsletter/the-breakdown Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to the Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ DISCLAIMER As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice.
Transcribe →The US Just Made the Case for Open-Source AI
Jun 1500:21:45Tap to summarizeAnthropic released Fable V — a wrapper around its Mythos model with strict guardrails. Within 24 hours, the White House forced it offline over a jailbreak that exposed Mythos's full cyber capabilities. David walks through David Sack’s thread, the export control, and why this is the strongest case yet for running your own open-source AI at home. Plus: Blockworks just acquired Messari, and the SpaceX IPO turned into a mess on crypto exchanges. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:24) Anthropic (11:57) Blockworks Acquires Messari (14:38) SpaceX IPO FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW › The Breakdown Newsletter — https://blockworks.com/newsletter/the-breakdown Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to the Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ DISCLAIMER As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice.
Transcribe →Blockworks Acquires Messari
Jun 1200:28:59Tap to summarizeIn this special episode, Blockworks announces its acquisition of Messari and unpacks what it means for crypto’s next phase. Michael and Jason explore why Messari’s breadth of data, APIs, and research complement Blockworks’ deep on-chain analytics, investor relations, and disclosure products. They also address crypto’s trust problem, the need for standardized data and disclosures, and how Blockworks aims to become the trusted data layer connecting issuers, investors, exchanges, regulators, and AI agents in on-chain markets. Learn more: https://blockworks.com/insights/blockworks-acquires-messari Follow Blockworks on X: https://x.com/Blockworks Follow Messari on X: https://x.com/MessariCrypto Follow Michael on X: https://x.com/MikeIppolito_ Follow Jason on X: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz
Transcribe →SpaceX Just Became the Most Valuable Post-IPO Company Ever
Jun 1200:21:28Tap to summarizeIt's SpaceX IPO day, and it’s on track to be the most valuable post-IPO company in history — $1.77T, surpassing Saudi Aramco. David walks through the numbers, the pre-IPO trade on Hyperliquid, and why the edge wore off months ago. Plus: Nakamoto selling Bitcoin while Tom Lee's BitMine keeps stacking ETH, and where prediction market volumes are during the NBA Finals. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:08) SpaceX IPO (07:27) Treasury Companies (15:47) Prediction Markets FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW › The Breakdown Newsletter — https://blockworks.com/newsletter/the-breakdown Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to the Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ DISCLAIMER As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice.
Transcribe →