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/
66episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Messy State of Crypto Governance with Jito Foundation's Nick Almond | The Breakdown
1w ago00:42:22Tap to summarizeNick Almond of the Jito Foundation joins David to walk through why DAO governance is a mess, what “pragmatic decentralization” looks like in practice, and how the CLARITY Act will reshape governance going forward. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:22) Why Governance Matters (03:43) Token Voting (05:12) Delegates and Multisigs (08:56) Nexo Ad (09:30) Sub-DAOs and Specialization (11:33) Governance Tokens Origins (15:47) Pragmatic Decentralization (18:22) Cosmetic Votes and Value (20:37) Nexo Ad (21:35) Arbitrum Governance (25:59) Regulation and CLARITY (29:11) Bitcoin Governance Lessons (34:03) Meta Governance and Agility (36:48) Tokens as Equity Future (39:41) Closing Thoughts FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW › Nick Almond — https://x.com/DrNickA › Jito Foundation — https://x.com/jito_sol SPONSORS › NEXO Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/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 $70B AI IPO, Claude Cracks a Lost Wallet, and CLARITY Advances | The Breakdown
2w ago00:25:37Tap to summarizeHyperliquid enabled early exposure to the biggest AI IPO of the year. Claude helped recover a Bitcoin wallet locked for 11 years. And CLARITY made it through markup. David runs through all three. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 01:05 Cerebras 12:42 Claude Rescues Wallet 19:17 CLARITY Markup Update FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW 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.
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Bhutan Times the Top, CLARITY Hits Markup, and the Onchain Pokemon Card Boom | The Breakdown
2w ago00:33:15Tap to summarizeBhutan timed the Bitcoin top almost perfectly. The CLARITY Act may only let 10–20 chains qualify as “decentralized.” And onchain Pokémon cards are popping off. David runs through all three. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:31) Bhutan Sells (06:37) Nexo Ad (07:12) Bhutan Sells (Cont.) (14:39) CLARITY Markup (15:40) Nexo Ad (16:31) CLARITY Markup (Cont.) (25:30) Onchain Pokemon Card Boom FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW SPONSORS › NEXO Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/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.
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Bored Apes Rally, Canton Raises at $2B and Saylor Raps the Bears | The Breakdown
2w ago00:31:39Tap to summarizeDavid covers three Monday stories: the NFT mini-revival (Bored Apes doubled in a month), Canton raising $300M at a $2B valuation, and Saylor's AI rap video defending Strategy from “Ponzi” accusations. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:15) Are NFTs Back? (07:24) Nexo Ad (07:59) Are NFTs Back? (Cont.) (12:06) Canton (16:52) Nexo Ad (17:46) Canton (Cont.) (23:27) Strategy Rap FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW SPONSORS › NEXO Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/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.
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Coinbase Down Again, HIP-4 vs Polymarket, and Dueling Big Tech Crypto Partnerships | The Breakdown
3w ago00:28:47Tap to summarizeDavid covers three Friday stories: Coinbase's hours-long outage on the back of an AWS cooling failure, the data on whether prediction markets are actually beating memecoins, and the dueling Solana + Google Cloud / AWS + Coinbase + Stripe agentic commerce announcements. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:23) Coinbase AWS Outage (07:20) Nexo Ad (07:55) Prediction Markets, Memecoins, and HIP-4 (15:58) Nexo Ad (16:51) Prediction Markets, Memecoins, and HIP-4 (Cont.) (19:15) Agentic Commerce Meta FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW SPONSORS › NEXO Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/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.
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Coinbase's AI Layoffs, a16z's $2.2B Fund, and Strategy's $12.5B Loss | The Breakdown
3w ago00:32:18Tap to summarizeDavid covers three Wednesday stories: Coinbase laying off 14% of staff, a16z Crypto raising $2.2 billion, and Strategy losing $12.5 billion as CEO Phong Le floats selling bitcoin. We also unpack the AI-first layoff narrative, the potential return of the infra supercycle ($6B+ raised across crypto VCs in 2026), and why a Cambrian explosion of DATs and ETFs might absorb whatever Saylor has to offload. Enjoy! -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:17) Coinbase Layoffs (07:15) Nexo Ad (07:50) Coinbase Layoffs (Cont.) (10:30) a16z Crypto Fund 5 (15:17) Nexo Ad (16:09) a16z Crypto Fund 5 (Cont.) (22:30) Strategy Losses FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW SPONSORS › NEXO Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/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.
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Clavicular x Polymarket, the CLARITY Act, and What MegaETH Tells Us About Retail | The Breakdown
3w ago00:25:01Tap to summarizeDavid runs through three Monday morning stories: the viral Clavicular clip with Polymarket’s CMO, the CLARITY Act’s compromise on stablecoin yield, and MegaETH’s adoption numbers a week into its points campaign. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:06) Clavicular and Polymarket CMO (09:20) Nexo Ad (09:57) CLARITY Act Update (15:03) Nexo Ad (15:54) MegaETH Performance FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW SPONSORS › NEXO Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/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.
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MegaETH, the DeFi United Bailout, Meta’s USDC Push, and Blockworks Reaches $192M Valuation | The Breakdown
4w ago00:36:41Tap to summarizeDeFi just raised $302 million to cover losses from the Kelp DAO hack. David calls it what it is: a bailout. David runs through four stories from the week — MegaETH, DeFi United, Meta’s stablecoin payouts, and the Blockworks rebrand. We unpack why MegaETH’s points campaign is the 2021 playbook in 2026, why stablecoin income doesn’t equal crypto adoption, and what happens when the house money runs out. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction (01:14 MegaETH) (13:34 Nexo Ad) (14:11 DeFi United) (21:20 Nexo Ad) (22:12 Meta Stablecoins) (30:14 Blockworks Valuation) FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW SPONSORS › NEXO Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/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.
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How Crypto Is Fighting Back Against North Korea | The Breakdown
4w ago00:37:40Tap to summarizeNorth Korea has had IT workers embedded in DeFi protocols since DeFi Summer — and they’re pretty good devs. Nick Bax, blockchain investigator and SEAL 911 incident responder, joins us to break down how crypto crime has evolved from SIM swaps to nation-state social engineering. We unpack the Monero inflation bug, Arbitrum’s 9/12 multisig gold standard, how DPRK workers now use facilitators to rent real identities, and what it actually takes to break into onchain investigation. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction (02:01) DeFi is Under Attack (03:11) Contagion Onchain (04:40) Nexo Ad (05:16) Nick Bax Interview (06:40) Incident Response Triage (08:43) Preemptive Due Diligence (10:20) From SIM Swaps To Remote Access (13:45) Multisig Best Practices (14:37) AI Speeds Up Attacks (15:36) Nexo Ad (17:14) Decentralization Tradeoffs (19:17) Monero Bug Hard Fork (20:05) Trusting Multisig Guardians (21:05) Two Of Five Risks (22:00) DeFi Decentralization Debate (23:41) Proactive Threat Hunting (25:25) DPRK Worker Red Flags (27:32) Security Teams And Intel (30:21) Thorchain And Laundering (33:26) Whack A Mole Reality (35:31) Becoming Onchain Investigator (37:06) Closing Thoughts FOLLOW GUEST › Nick Bax — https://x.com/bax1337 FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW SPONSORS › NEXO Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/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.
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Mythos Leaks, Crypto in the Strait of Hormuz, and DoorDash Stablecoins | The Breakdown
Apr 2300:26:02Tap to summarizeSomeone guessed Anthropic’s Mythos URL, gained unauthorized access to the most hyped AI model in history, and used it to build websites. David covers three stories from the week: the Mythos breach, a Tether scam in the Strait of Hormuz, and DoorDash’s stablecoin announcement. We unpack why Project Glasswing looks like marketing by association, how scammers are demanding Bitcoin and Tether for Hormuz transit, and whether DoorDash + Tempo passes David’s three-prong crypto test. Enjoy! __ TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction (01:08) Unauthorized Mythos Access (08:16) Nexo Ad (08:51) Hormuz Scam Messages (13:12) Nexo Ad (14:04) DoorDash Stablecoin Payments (22:48) Korean Wolf Memecoin FOLLOW THE SHOW › David — https://x.com/dcanellis › The Breakdown — https://x.com/TheBreakdownBW SPONSORS › NEXO Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/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.
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