BREAKDOWN: Governments vs. Networks – The Battle for the Soul of Finance
Governments have significant discretion over economics and finance today, but decentralized network-driven alternatives threaten that control.
ABOUT
Governments have significant discretion over economics and finance today, but decentralized network-driven alternatives threaten that control.
This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io.
Today on the Brief:
- Kraken is the first crypto exchange to become a U.S. bank
- FTC preparing antitrust lawsuit against Facebook
- Gold-standard fan Judy Shelton doesn’t have the votes to be confirmed as Federal Reserve governor
Our main discussion: The battle for the soul of finance.
In this episode, NLW looks at the power competition between governments on the one hand and the decentralized network-driven finance alternatives that would reshape that power. Interestingly, in this competition corporations may play a role that benefits both sides at different times and in different ways.
HOST
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 Blockspace Pod: The Shortest Bear Market Ever w/ Matt Hougan of Bitwise
Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise, breaks down why we’re still in a crypto winter, the truth about central bank gold buying...
59 minutes ago
Charles Hoskinson and Ding X on Predict.Fun, privacy and building in public
Charles Hoskinson and former-anonymous PancakeSwap founder Ding X discuss the shift from pseudonymous building to pub...
Feb 18, 2026
The Blockspace Pod: Big Oil Wants Dollars, Not Bitcoin w/ Chris Alfano
Chris Alfano, CEO of 360 Energy, joins the podcast to discuss how Bitcoin mining is solving oil and gas problems. Lea...
Feb 17, 2026
The Blockspace Pod: Bitdeer's Clarington Lawsuit, $IREN's MSCI Index Listing, and Bitcoin's Quantum Step
Colin and Charlie break down the latest Bitcoin news, from the massive $16k price drawdown and capitulation theories ...
Feb 14, 2026

The Mining Pod
Feb 10, 2025

CoinDesk Podcast Network
The top stories and best shows in the blockchain world, delivered daily from the team at CoinDesk.
Dec 20, 2023

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

Unchained
Unchained, your no hype resource for all things crypto by former Forbes senior editor Laura Shin, author of The Cryptopians.
Dec 18, 2023
