Welcome back to The Breakdown with me, NLW.

It's a daily podcast on macro, Bitcoin, and the big-picture power shifts remaking our world.

The breakdown is sponsored by nexus.io, neer.org, and genesis trading, and produced and distributed by CoinDess.

What's going on, guys? It is Sunday, May 9th, and that means it's time for Long Reads Sunday.

First up, however, a big happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there, especially Jesse, the mom to our two little blighters.

We literally would not make it through without you. But let's now talk about CBDCs. The central thesis of this episode is that

CBDCs aren't about money. They're about power. That thesis will be obvious to many of you,

certainly those who have listened to me

discuss why China is so keen to get a CBDC and why the U.S. is comparatively slow moving.

Today's LRS selection puts China's motivation clearly. It's by Soon Sorensen and it's called

China is opting out of the U.S.-run financial system. So let's read it and then we'll talk a little bit more about power. China is opting out of the U.S.-run financial system. So let's read it and then we'll talk a little bit

more about power. China is opting out of the U.S. run financial system. If the U.S. government

doesn't lead financial innovation, China will leapfrog it and control the world's emerging

monetary infrastructure. An ancient Chinese proverb states that the man who moves a mountain

begins by carrying

away small stones. China has perfected that like no other nation and has been working to

create the infrastructure to leapfrog to global reserve currency status by innovating building

and controlling the plumbing of a competing global financial system. Digital currencies are a

key part of this great game. The U.S., with

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler and the lead, has taken notice and is

finally beginning to stir. Gensler once told NPR, quote, markets work best when there's a cop on the

beat. His observation speaks to the competition among international central banks, but it's the People's Bank of

...