BREAKDOWN: The End of an Era? Why Bitcoin and MMT Won the Week
Fed Chair Jerome Powell tried to make it seem like the end of an era, but didn’t inspire confidence in the central bank’s ability to lead in the era that comes next.
Aug 29, 2020
Listen or watch all the new CoinDesk podcast episodes wherever you want.
ABOUT
Fed Chair Jerome Powell tried to make it seem like the end of an era, but didn’t inspire confidence in the central bank’s ability to lead in the era that comes next.
This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io.
On The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap, NLW looks at the shifting sands of the global economy. He says Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole this week was an argument that an era that began in the 1970s is now closing.
At the same time, he argues Powell did very little to provide a vision for what comes next. Instead, it is the alternative economic philosophies – Modern Monetary Theory on the one side, Bitcoin on the other – that are attracting people for a different vision of the future.
This week on The Breakdown:
Monday | How Much Should We Fear Post-Crisis Debt or Inflation? Feat. Adam Tooze
Tuesday | An Unintended Consequence of Low Interest Rates? The Big Get Bigger
Wednesday | The Battle to Get Dictator’s Seized Millions to 62,000 Venezuelan Health Heroes
Thursday | Everything You Need to Know About Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole Speech
Friday | The Anxiety Index: 4 Fear Factors Shaping the Economy
HOST
CoinDesk
CoinDesk is the world leader in news, prices and information on bitcoin and other digital currencies.
We cover news and analysis on the trends, price movements, technologies, companies and people in the bitcoin and digital currency world.
EPISODES
THE MINING POD: How Coinbase is Quietly Driving Bitcoin's Hashrate Growth w/ Doug Wilson
Coinbase Asset Management’s hashrate loans allow miners to borrow against their entire mining facility.
Dec 16, 2025
The Blockspace Pod: Inside the $220M Bitcoin Infrastructure SPAC w/ Ryan Gentry
Ryan Gentry, CEO of Bitcoin Infrastructure Acquisition Corp, discusses his $220M IPO, the "aerospace mafia" thesis, a...
Dec 15, 2025
THE MINING POD: ERCOT’s 266 GW Surge, IREN’s $2.3B Raise, GPUs > ASICs, Whatsminer M70
This week in bitcoin mining news, ERCOT sees a 266 GW of interconnection requests in 2026, IREN closed a $2.3 billion...
Dec 12, 2025
Zcash Founder Zooko Wilcox: Surveillance Is a "Dangerous Experiment"
Zcash Founder Zooko Wilcox on Why Privacy is Actually the Historical Norm.
Dec 11, 2025
COINDESK SERIES
0 EPISODE
The Mining Pod
Feb 10, 2025
1379 EPISODES
CoinDesk Podcast Network
The top stories and best shows in the blockchain world, delivered daily from the team at CoinDesk.
Dec 20, 2023
1349 EPISODES
Markets Outlook
Tune in as CoinDesk runs down action in the crypto market and some of the most important recent industry development.
Dec 19, 2023
0 EPISODE
Unchained
Unchained, your no hype resource for all things crypto by former Forbes senior editor Laura Shin, author of The Cryptopians.
Dec 18, 2023
