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 Friday, July 12th, and that means it's time for the Friday 5. Before we get into that, however, if you are enjoying the breakdown, please go subscribe to it, give it a rating, give it a review, or if you want to dive deeper into the conversation, come join us on the Breakers Discord. You can find a link in the show notes or go to bit.ly slash breakdown pod. Hello friends, back with another conversation

with Scott Melker around the five biggest stories in crypto this week. And there is one dominant

theme. This will surprise you not at all. It continues to be the insurgents of crypto and Bitcoin

specifically into the American political calculus. This week we're talking about Rokana's meeting,

trying to get the Democratic Party's relationship back on track with the crypto industry.

We're talking about the GOP putting crypto officially in their party platform. And of course,

we're talking about former President Donald Trump showing up in Nashville in a couple weeks to

headline the Bitcoin conference. Lots to discuss, so let's dig in.

Man, what a week. I know we missed last week. The week before it was insane as well.

Governments are keeping us in business this summer, man. Usually this is the time, like,

we had a glimpse of it. And I don't remember it was that in April, beginning of May,

where it started to feel like summer, right? Where it's like everything, it kind of cooled off and everyone

is getting frustrated because there wasn't much happening. But then the insane political

process in the U.S. just decided to kick the doors in and keep us talking throughout these

summer months. So it's wild. Yeah. I mean, I'm old enough to remember when

the political environment in the United States for crypto was bad. It was contentious.

Donald Trump was a specific of a big point. Your kids are old enough to remember.

You know, three months ago before Donald Trump made the pivot. And we've gone from, you know,

that interesting moment when a kid asked Donald Trump

a question about crypto and he came out in favor to all of a sudden him being the pro

...