Fed Cuts Rates Amid Rising Labor Market Risks
The Federal Reserve delivered its first rate cut since last November, reducing the target range to 4–4.25% as weakening labor data outweighed inflation concerns. Chair Powell framed the move as a “ris...
19 Sep 202511min
Google’s New Agent Payments Protocol and What It Means for Crypto
Today on The Breakdown, NLW explores Google’s announcement of AP2, a new open-source payments standard that lets AI agents transact securely. Built with Coinbase and more than 60 partners, AP2 integra...
18 Sep 202510min
Coinbase Considers Token Launch
On today’s Breakdown, NLW unpacks the Senate’s confirmation of Trump adviser Stephen Moran to the Fed and the fierce debate over central bank independence ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC meeting. He then di...
17 Sep 202510min
Checking In On Last Week’s Crypto IPOs
Gemini and Figure Markets both raised significant cash in their IPOs last week, but their subdued trading debuts highlighted a cooler speculative environment compared to Circle’s explosive June listin...
15 Sep 202510min
Friday Five: SEC Turns Pro-Crypto, Tokenization Race Heats Up, Gemini IPO
This week’s Friday Five dives into the accelerating cryptoization of finance. SEC Chair Paul Atkins signaled a new era of pro-innovation policy, extending beyond crypto to AI and agentic trading. Sena...
13 Sep 202519min
SEC Chair: "Crypto’s Time Has Come"
SEC Chair Paul Atkins says the Gensler era of regulation by enforcement is over, as the agency launches Project Crypto to bring clarity and push capital markets on chain. From tokenization and super a...
12 Sep 20258min
Senate Democrats Unveil Competing Crypto Market Structure Bill
Senate Democrats have introduced their own framework for crypto market structure, setting up negotiations with Republicans and potentially clearing the way for bipartisan legislation. The proposal giv...
11 Sep 202511min
Soft Jobs Report Clears the Way for Fed Cuts
August’s jobs report showed just 22,000 payrolls added, unemployment rising to 4.3%, and manufacturing losses continuing—making it the weakest labor market since 2016. With downward revisions and a lo...
10 Sep 202511min
