BREAKDOWN: A Primer on the US and China’s 'New Cold War'
From control of the digital realm to territorial skirmishes, these are the issues shaping an increasingly troubled relationship.
ABOUT
No geopolitical relationship will shape the world over the coming decade as much as that of the U.S. and China.
This episode is sponsored by Bitstamp and Crypto.com.
A day after President Trump signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act enabling sanctions on those that threaten the autonomy of China (and the companies that do business with them) and the UK worked to ban Huawei 5G infrastructure, this episode of the Breakdown looks at the key faultlines and issues that have that relationship in a dangerous downward spiral:
- Virus blame recriminations
- Trade war tensions
- The Hong Kong Security Law
- Huawei 5G and critical digital infrastructure
- TikTok
- India border skirmish
- South China Sea Military Exercises
- The politics of labeling this a “new cold war”
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
Patrick Witt says 'let's not let perfect be the enemy of good' in stablecoin standoff
4 hours ago
The Blockspace Pod: What’s Really Driving Bitcoin’s Price w/ Rory Murray
CleanSpark’s Rory Murray joins us to explain the macro forces driving bitcoin’s price and how the options market may ...
12 hours ago
The Blockspace Pod: How North Korean Hackers Stole $300M+ Via Telegram w/ Taylor Monahan
North Korean hackers with the Lazarus Group have stolen over $300 million with this Telegram phishing scam.
Jan 31, 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
