"The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg

E69: Good vs Bad Bubbles, Stagnation, and Bitcoin [Byrne on Bankless]


Listen Later

In this episode of The Riff, we are releasing a conversation Byrne Hobart had on the Bankless podcast about Byrne's book Bitcoin, exploring the provocative idea that speculative Bubbles—while sometimes destructive—can be powerful drivers of innovation, with examples from history and present-day trends like AI and crypto, ultimately highlighting the value of embracing risk to shape a transformative future.


---

🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse.


---

Highlights from the Episode:

  • Bubbles as coordination mechanisms: Byrne argues that certain bubbles are actually productive forces that help coordinate massive resources toward ambitious technological goals that wouldn't otherwise be achieved.
  • Technological clusters in time: Just as certain industries cluster geographically (finance in NY, film in LA), bubbles create "clusters in time" where talent and capital converge to build related technologies
  • Bitcoin and Crypto Evolution: Byrne traces his early interactions with Bitcoin from skeptical commenter to eventual participant. Bitcoin's resilience after Silk Road shutdown demonstrated it had value beyond illegal markets.
  • Great Stagnation and Risk Aversion: Modern society has become increasingly risk-averse, favoring safety, credentials, and incrementalism over bold innovation.
  • Future Frontiers for Bubbles: From space exploration and Mars colonization to crypto, digital property rights, biotech, life extension, energy innovation, and the emerging frontier where AI and crypto intersect, we are still in the early stages of transformative breakthroughs.


    --

    SPONSORS:


    NetSuite

    More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102


    ---

    LINKS:

    Byrne’s writing: https://thediff.co

    Bankless: https://www.bankless.com/podcast/why-bubbles-are-good-byrne-hobart


    ---

    X / TWITTER:

    https://x.com/BanklessHQ (Bankless)

    https://twitter.com/ByrneHobart (Byrne)

    https://twitter.com/TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    "The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik TorenbergBy Byrne Hobart, Erik Torenberg

    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8

    4.8

    20 ratings


    More shows like "The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg

    View all
    EconTalk by Russ Roberts

    EconTalk

    4,246 Listeners

    The Art of Manliness by The Art of Manliness

    The Art of Manliness

    14,264 Listeners

    The Vergecast by The Verge

    The Vergecast

    3,675 Listeners

    Conversations with Tyler by Mercatus Center at George Mason University

    Conversations with Tyler

    2,409 Listeners

    Acquired by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

    Acquired

    4,179 Listeners

    Odd Lots by Bloomberg

    Odd Lots

    1,870 Listeners

    All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

    All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

    9,250 Listeners

    Dwarkesh Podcast by Dwarkesh Patel

    Dwarkesh Podcast

    426 Listeners

    Big Technology Podcast by Alex Kantrowitz

    Big Technology Podcast

    467 Listeners

    The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

    The Ezra Klein Show

    15,497 Listeners

    Honestly with Bari Weiss by The Free Press

    Honestly with Bari Weiss

    8,621 Listeners

    Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist by Joe Lonsdale

    Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist

    174 Listeners

    "Upstream" with Erik Torenberg by Erik Torenberg

    "Upstream" with Erik Torenberg

    60 Listeners

    "Econ 102" with Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg by Turpentine

    "Econ 102" with Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg

    144 Listeners

    Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11) by Patrick McKenzie

    Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)

    124 Listeners