Bitcoin marks its 10th anniversary with a lackluster record: while adoption has increased, it has yet to deliver on several promises. Transactions are too slow and expensive for daily use, and bitcoin is nowhere near replacing traditional central-bank currencies.

Lawrence White, a professor of economics at George Mason University and a senior fellow with the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, credits bitcoin with introducing a remarkable technological breakthrough in money.

However, he argues that price volatility is one of its major shortcomings. This may be "baked in," given the fixed supply, limiting its appeal in the face of more stable fiat currencies.

Show notes: http://goldnewsletter.com/podcast/altcoins-central-banks-bitcoin-legacy/

Latin America is home to less than 10 percent of humanity, but it has 20 percent of the planet's oil reserves, over half of its lithium deposits, its largest copper mines, and 20 percent of its gold production.

Unfortunately, notes James McKeigue, managing editor of LatAm Investor, several political and cultural barriers render these resources inaccessible. While democracy has brought better deals in terms of environmental impact and community development, institutional inertia and political instability have stalled mining projects and impeded economic growth.

A rise in the price of commodities and forward-thinking governments have recently attracted tens of billions of dollars in foreign investment, suggesting that more good news is coming in the next decade.

Show notes: http://goldnewsletter.com/podcast/navigate-maze-latin-americas-resources/

Is there any event or fact that would lead you to change your worldview? This is the essence of the dogma test, a tool investors can use to avoid being sucked into manias and bubbles.

E.B. Tucker, a senior analyst with Casey Research and independent director of Metalla Royalty, uses it often to survey investment opportunities.

It has led him to argue people should get their money out of cryptocurrencies, but that the blockchain will still revolutionize the world.

Investment requires constant vigilance, and periods of hype call for caution. He believes gold royalties are one of the soundest opportunities in the market today, and he puts his money where his mouth is.

Show notes: https://goldnewsletter.com/podcast/the-dogma-test-for-predictions/

The world is full of people behaving in ways that don't make sense at first glance. Economics is a tool to help you understand seemingly inexplicable actions.

Steven Landsburg, a University of Rochester economics professor, has written several books that introduce the economic way of thinking to a lay audience. The rationale, he writes, can be summed up best in four words: "People respond to incentives."

Understanding the power of incentives gives one a leg up as a businessman and investor, but also as a citizen trying to penetrate a world awash with confusion.

Show notes: http://goldnewsletter.com/podcast/see-beyond-obvious-economics/

Venture capital is one of the most competitive fund-raising paths for businesses nowadays, full of deceptive and bad actors.

How can young entrepreneurs get a foot in the door? The key is having a powerful story to convince investors, says Alejandro Cremades. A serial entrepreneur, book author, and Forbes contributor, he founded Panthera Advisors, a premier investment banking and financial consulting firm.

Rather than going to university, his advice is to start a company and prove the world you are capable of building something.

Show notes: http://goldnewsletter.com/podcast/the-key-to-venture-capital-success/

US states have amassed at least $1.5 trillion in unfunded liabilities in 2017, even though 49 of them have some form of balanced-budget restriction.

Bill Bergman attempts to answer this puzzle. He is director of research with Truth in Accounting, a nonprofit watchdog that publishes the annual Financial State of the States, a report that provides taxpayers with clear and transparent state-accounting information.

Bergman explains that state governments get away with spending and promising beyond their means due to accounting tricks and regulatory capture by lobbying groups. In particular, retirement obligations have grown beyond what states such as Illinois can afford to pay. What can't happen won't happen, and Puerto Rico-like default chaos lies ahead.

Show notes: http://goldnewsletter.com/podcast/what-sinkhole-states-dont-want-you-to-know/

The United States is getting ready to build its first copper mine in a decade: Pumpkin Hollow in Yerington, Nevada.

Tumbling prices and red tape have stalled copper investments for years, but new gains in supply efficiency are attracting large-scale investments again, says Frik Els, editor of Mining.com.

A veteran business journalist based in Vancouver, Els argues that copper is so fundamental to many industries that its long-term prospects are bright.

Show notes: http://goldnewsletter.com/podcast/nevada-copper-mine-worth-40-year-wait/

Many investors have taken to gold futures and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to diversify their portfolios. They could be in for some disappointment, according to Chris Powell.

He is the secretary and treasurer of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA), a nonprofit and civil-rights organization. It monitors the market for manipulation of monetary-metals prices and intervention of central banks to defeat free markets sound-money alternatives.

Powell argues that these instruments are largely "paper gold," which cannot be redeemed for metal in any practical sense. Further, they give bullion banks a tool to keep prices under control in complicity with central banks.

Show notes: http://goldnewsletter.com/podcast/the-problem-with-gold-futures-etfs/

Amid the cryptocurrency euphoria, few have passed on the opportunity to invest in bitcoin or altcoins. Meet Dennis Gartman, who argues that they have no intrinsic value and only serve for speculation.

A world-renowned financier and commodities expert, he has published the Gartman Letter since 1987, which goes out daily to leading banks, hedge funds, and mutual funds.

Despite his bitcoin skepticism, he touts its underlying technology, the blockchain, as revolutionary. He argues that decentralized ledgers will disrupt mortgage registries, container shipping, and much more.

Show notes: http://goldnewsletter.com/podcast/dennis-gartman-bitcoin-substitute-nothing/

Mike Larson is sounding the alarm over what he perceives to be a growing tech bubble. Exhibit A is Uber, the ride-sharing company worth billions that has been operating at a loss for almost a decade.

He criticizes the hype-driven media and lazy fund managers for a lack of healthy skepticism. A senior analyst with Weiss Ratings, he believes that, just like the dot-com bubble he lived through, easy credit has been fueling overvaluation of assets and tech startups.

Now that the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates, the easy-money environment will dry up and many firms won't survive. Larson advocates going back to more "boring" stocks for protection against the eventual unwinding.

Show notes: http://goldnewsletter.com/podcast/why-boring-is-good-beware-of-tech-hype/