The Bitcoin Standard Podcast

Debating Professor Hanke on Bitcoin's value Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

Professor Steve Hanke has many decades of experience studying currencies and fighting inflation, but does not see value in bitcoin. He joins Saifedean and Hong Fang, the CEO of OKCoin, to discuss Bitcoin's value, whether bitcoin has intrinsic value, if bitcoin is just a speculative bubble, and if a currency board would work for a digital currency.

THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS

42. The Fiat Standard, Chapters 4-7 Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

In this seminar we discuss chapters 4 to 7 from my book The Fiat Standard, the forthcoming sequel to The Bitcoin Standard, available to subscribers on saifedean.com. How does the fiat standard work internationally? We look at how mining fiat by lending it incentivizes international financial institutions, how it shapes international politics and the domestic politics of developing countries, and how it has prevented economic growth in poor countries.

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

41. Can bitcoin obsolete bonds? Mar 18, 2021

Show notes

As insurance industry giants begin to enter the bitcoin space, we discuss the implications for bitcoin’s proposition as a store of value. Will the satoshi rate become the new risk-free rate? Are there any good reasons for bonds to exist in a world in which bitcoin works? What is the case for holding gold in a bitcoin world?

Links:

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.

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40. Dr. Shawn Baker on Meat, Fiat Foods, and Bitcoin Mar 14, 2021

Show notes

This week we host the poster child for carbohydrate deficiency, carnivore elite athlete, orthopedic surgeon, author, and bitcoiner Dr. Shawn Baker! We discuss Shawn's personal experience as an athlete, and his professional experience as a surgeon, on the carnivore diet, the rationale for eating meat-only, the health benefits, and why dietary interventions are far more effective than public health interventions. We also ask Shawn's views on sourcing meat, the environmental impact of meat production, fasting, coffee, and wine.

The makers of my favorite grill, the Otto Wilde Grill, are offering you a 10% discount and a free membership to saifedean.com if you buy a grill from them in the next five days! Just use the coupon code saifedean100!

Shawn's book, The Carnivore Diet

Mentioned by Shawn in the episode:

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.

Visit saifedean.com/meat to find out more about Saifedean’s experience following the carnivore diet.

39. The Shitcoin Standard Mar 09, 2021

Show notes

This week we discuss: What are shitcoins good for? Can shitcoins help bitcoin scale? Do shitcoins take market share from bitcoin, or from each other? Plus, find out why backing gold with bitcoin is far more likely than backing bitcoin with gold!

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.

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38. Bitcoin and fiat debt Mar 04, 2021

Show notes

Should you borrow fiat to buy bitcoin? Is it better to sell bitcoin or borrow against it? In this seminar we discuss optimal fiat strategies for bitcoiners, and the risks involved, based on Michael Saylor's comments in seminar 34, and the early chapters of The Fiat Standard.

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.

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https://youtu.be/yvKNCW5B_DU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPGHpBOt5sE

37. Art on The Bitcoin Standard Feb 27, 2021

Show notes

In this seminar we are joined by Stephen Chow, founder of Chow Art Fund, whose mission is to embrace the bitcoin standard in order to sponsor living artists to create masterpieces, and @FractalEncrypt, an artist who has produced a magnificent bitcoin full node sculpture. We discuss my book, The Bitcoin Standard, and how its discussion of time preference was influential in their artistic journeys; how they see art evolving in a bitcoin world; and the problem with "art on blockchain" nonsense. We conclude with a discussion of my favorite artist, classical Egyptian music's legendary diva, Umm Kulthum, and how she was the inspiration for my thoughts on time preference.

Chow Art Fund website: https://chowartfund.wordpress.com/

Bitcoin full node sculpture: https://scarce.city/products/full-node-sculpture

Umm Kulthum's wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umm_Kulthum

Some of her best songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtlAw0FziDc

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.

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36. Michael Saylor, stock-to-flow, and praxeology Feb 24, 2021

Show notes

In this podcast we discussed last week seminar with Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor. We go over his strategy for buying bitcoin and wether it works for everyone. Then we discuss wether his actions and analysis contradict the bitcoin stock to flow model. Finally, we move on to discuss how we can reconcile the stock to flow model with praxeology and the Austrian economics we cover in our courses on saifedean.com

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.

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Michael's Bitcoin for corporations conference website.

34. Michael Saylor on The Fiat Standard Feb 16, 2021

Show notes

We are rejoined by Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor, who has read the first part of The Fiat Standard and shares some fascinating feedback on it, including how to think of time preference and bitcoin. We also discuss Bitcoin for Corporations, the conference Microstrategy organized, and how he sees the bitcoin corporate wave advancing. What are the assets obsoleted by bitcoin? What are Michael's mental models for thinking about bitcoin's price, his thoughts on price prediction models, and whether he thinks we'll see another big crash in bitcoin.

Subscribe to receive chapters of The Fiat Standard as they are written, on saifedean.com.

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