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.

What's going on, guys? It is Wednesday, July 10th, and today we are going macro.

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Well, friends, surprisingly for a summer in some ways, there has been

enough going on in the crypto space, particularly with regard to the whole political overlap,

that we haven't actually had a chance to check in on the larger macro environment for some time.

While there hasn't been anything hugely new or different, there have been some new notes

from Powell, a Janet Yellen hearing,

and some global events that are worth digging into just a little bit.

We kick off with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who appeared before the Senate on Tuesday for the

first of two days of congressional hearings.

These routine hearings are held twice a year and serve to keep lawmakers updated on the

state of monetary policy.

The last time these hearings were held in March,

the clear focus was on the inflation fight after an uptick in first quarter data. At yesterday's

hearing, Powell emphasized a growing concern over the potential for an economic slowdown.

He framed the situation as the risk of inflation and the risk of rising unemployment coming

into closer balance. During prepared remarks, Powell said, in light of the progress made both in lowering inflation and in cooling the labor market over the past two years,

...