The Bitcoin Standard Podcast

61. Why bitcoin can’t be controlled by councils Jun 10, 2021

Show notes

In today’s seminar Saifedean talks to regular seminar attendees about the Bitcoin Mining Council: a recently formed group of North American bitcoin miners that aims to “promote energy usage transparency [and] accelerate sustainability initiatives worldwide.” They discuss why centralized attempts to alter bitcoin are unlikely to succeed without broad community consensus, what we can learn from the proposed SegWit2x software upgrade of 2017, and why the claims of some popular green energy initiatives are dubious.

Related Texts:

Article on establishment of Bitcoin Mining Council: https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/business/musk-s-bitcoin-mining-council-promises-sustainability/story

The Blocksize War by Jonathan Bier: https://blog.bitmex.com/the-blocksize-war-chapter-1-first-strike/

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS

60. Bitcoin and the Rise of Central Bank Digital Currencies with Simon Dixon Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

In this episode Saifedean talks to Bitcoin Angel investor Simon Dixon about central bank digital currencies and Bitcoin in the context of today’s economy. They cover why CBDCs represent a radical monetary reform that would give governments unprecedented surveillance power, how the IMF is struggling to find relevance, why Bitcoin represents a lifeboat during times of uncertainty, and why we’re living in the most exciting time in financial history.

Resources

Simon’s Emergency Broadcast - IMF calls for Bretton Woods Monetary Renegotiation As Predicted https://youtu.be/enmHW4gCkAY

Simon’s website: https://app.bnktothefuture.com/about

IMF Announcement of New Bretton Woods Moment: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment

Bank of England Bank Charter Act of 1844: https://web.archive.org/web/20101203090327/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/legislation/1844act.pdf

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS

59. Bitcoin: The Most Islamic Form of Money? with Harris Irfan May 27, 2021

Show notes

In today’s episode Saifedean talks to former investment banker and author of Heaven’s Bankers, Harris Irfan. They discuss Harris’ decades of experiences in Islamic finance and what sparked his interest in bitcoin as a Muslim. Harris explains why bitcoin might be the most sharia-compatible money, why the decentralized nature of bitcoin should be appealing to Muslims, and what Islamic scholars get wrong about bitcoin. We then discuss whether a hard free market money like bitcoin would make finance more equity-based than debt-based.

Links:

Harris’ book Heaven’s Bankers: https://amzn.to/3wtxRVz
Harris’ personal blog: https://islamicmarkets.com/pages/heavens-bankers
Harris’ 2019 article, Cryptocurrency and the Future of the Islamic Economy: https://islamicmarkets.com/articles/cryptocurrency-and-the-future-of-the-islamic-economy-1

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS

58. Taxation, Bitcoin and the State with Dominic Frisby May 24, 2021

Show notes

In this episode Saifedean talks to libertarian author and comedian Dominic Frisby about the history of taxation, the rise of Bitcoin and whether we are moving towards a more or less statist world. They cover the story of how Dominic first found out about Bitcoin in December 2010, how voluntary taxation worked in ancient Greece, the rise of digital nomads, and whether land value tax represents the “least bad tax”.

Links

National Debt Clock of the United States: https://www.usdebtclock.org/
Dominic’s song about Brexit: https://youtu.be/f2zJ8vaB5jo

Dominic’s books

Daylight Robbery: How Tax Shaped Our Past and Will Change Our Future: https://amzn.to/3woT5ns
Bitcoin: The Future of Money? https://amzn.to/2ScOw12
Life After the State: https://amzn.to/3v08Ot3

Books referenced by Dominic

For Good and Evil: The Impact Of Taxes On The Course Of Civilization by Charles Adams: https://amzn.to/3hCO07b
The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg: https://bit.ly/3hGRQMo
Why We Eat Too Much by Dr Andrew Jenkinson: https://amzn.to/3v9KjtE

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS

57. Elon Musk: The Fiat Rockefeller May 20, 2021

Show notes

In this episode Saifedean talks to regular seminar attendees about Elon Musk’s recent bitcoin comments, and what they teach us about him & his business empire. Saifedean compares Elon Musk to John D. Rockefeller – both the richest men in the world in their eras – and discusses the extent to which their innovations have had an impact on the lives of everyday people, to give us an idea of how fiat alters society. To become the richest man in the world, Rockefeller built the modern industrial world, transforming the lives of billions, while Musk traded carbon credits & received subsidies to unprofitably build a few toy cars for the rich.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Free-Private-Cities-Governments-Compete/dp/1724391380

56. Free Private Cities and Bitcoin with Rahim Taghizadegan May 17, 2021

Show notes

In this episode Saifedean talks to Rahim Taghizadegan, the president of the Free Private Cities Foundation, and one of the few Austrian School economists still operating in Austria. They discuss the history of the Austrian School, the problems of modern fiat academia and why Rahim sees Bitcoin as an essential part of the monetary infrastructure that would support Free Private Cities.

Resources

The Raven of Zurich: The Memoirs of Felix Somary: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Raven-Zurich-Memoirs-Felix-Somary/dp/0312664079

Free Private Cities official website: https://www.freeprivatecities.com/en/

Titus Gebel’s book, Free Private Cities: Making Governments Compete for You:

Institut Scholarium website (German Language only): https://scholarium.at/

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS

55. Is easy money good for exports? May 12, 2021

Show notes

In today’s seminar Saifedean talks to regular attendees about whether increasing a nation’s exports should be seen as a desirable policy goal, and why countries that devalue their currencies don’t necessarily export more.

The discussion focusses on the post-war experience of Germany and Switzerland and how these countries grew prosperous through maintenance of a strong currency.

Books referenced during the discussion include:

Gold Wars: The Battle Against Sound Money as Seen From a Swiss Perspective by Ferdinand Lips: https://amzn.to/33Akfve

For a discussion of Ludwig Erhard’s market reforms see: The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy by Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw: https://amzn.to/3f7Rlbl

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS

54. Bitcoin and the Global Economy with Lyn Alden May 09, 2021

Show notes

In this podcast Saifedean and Lyn discuss Bitcoin and trends taking place in the macroeconomy. Lyn starts by giving her view on the investment case for Bitcoin, PlanB’s Stock to Flow model, and whether Bitcoin can be characterized as a Ponzi scheme. They then move on to discuss global macroeconomic conditions and why Bitcoin represents a more attractive investment in a world where fiat currency supply expansion is accelerating. They touch on long-term debt cycles, 1970s stagflation, CBDCs and whether we should expect high inflation during the 2020s.

Articles by Lyn that were referenced in the conversation include:

3 Reasons I’m Investing in Bitcoin: https://bit.ly/3xO6uqS
Bitcoin: Addressing the Ponzi Scheme Characterization: https://bit.ly/3f25FC6
A Century of Fiscal and Monetary Policy: Inflation vs Deflation: https://bit.ly/3b71dRn
Bitcoin: Fee-Based Security Modeling: https://bit.ly/2QRpdkU

See PlanB’s website for information on the Stock to Flow model: https://100trillionusd.github.io/

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS

53. Allen Farrington's adventures with Fiat Intellectuals May 04, 2021

Show notes

Described by Jordan Peterson as "frighteningly smart", Allen Farrington is a member of saifedean.com who has written some excellent essays on bitcoin, and also spent an enormous amount of time studying the work of various fiat intellectuals, so you don't have to. He joins us for a deep dive into why fiat intellectuals have such a hard time understanding bitcoin, why it triggers them so much, and whether there is anything important or profound in the ramblings of angry fiaters like George Selgin, Eric Weinstein, and Nassim Taleb.

The discussion makes reference to the following articles by Allen:

Bitcoin is Venice: https://bit.ly/3uihiLJ
Wittgenstein’s Money: https://bit.ly/3eeXvaq
There was Never Real Tulip Fever: https://bit.ly/3gY0u8Q
Money, Blockchains and Social Scalability: https://bit.ly/3eO1pX1
The Capital Strip Mine: https://bit.ly/3t8cI1e

Other books and articles referenced in the discussion include:

Enders Game by Parker Lewis: https://bit.ly/3edxAQl
Principles of Economics by Carl Menger
The Theory of Money and Credit by Ludwig von Mises
The Ultimate Resource by Julian Simon
The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto
Complexity and the Economy by Brian Arthur
Competition and Entrepreneurship by Israel Kirzner
The Dao of Capital by Mark Spitznagel

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS