The Bitcoin Standard Podcast

In this episode, Saifedean talks to London School of Economics Professor Paul Frijters about his book The Great Covid Panic. They talk about the role played by epidemiologists like Neil Fergusson in encouraging governments to pursue extreme lockdowns, and why mainstream economists failed to properly evaluate the opportunity costs of this policy. They discuss the damage lockdowns have caused and how societies were driven by crowd mentality to engage in largely ineffectual “Covid theatre” such as mask wearing and hand sanitising. At the end of the episode, Paul takes questions from seminar attendees about Sweden’s Covid response, vaccine mandates and what lessons can be learned from the Covid panic.

 Resources

• Paul’s book The Great Covid Panic on Amazon.
• List of Neil Fergusson’s failed predictions.
• Saifedean’s Twitter thread on Belarus.
• BBC article on the environmental impact of disposable masks.
• Article on the psychological impact of social isolation caused by lockdowns.
• Julian Simon’s book The Ultimate Resource 2.
• Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay.
• Paul’s article on historical analogies for Covid-mania
• Paul’s article on why empirical sciences failed in times of Covid.

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

NYDIG - https://nydig.com

Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io/ 

OKCoin - https://okcoin.com/

Nodl - https://www.nodl.it/

Coldcard - https://coldcardwallet.com/

CoinBits App - https://coinbitsapp.com/

In this episode Saifedean talks to Nik Bhatia, author of Layered Money. They begin by discussing Nik’s first essays on bitcoin, The Time Value of Bitcoin and The Lightning Network Reference Rate, and why Nik thinks “Lightning banks” are on their way. They move on to talk about Nik’s book, starting with an overview of how “layered money” developed on top of gold through financial institutions, and how this eventually culminated in the emergence of a pure fiat financial system. Nik and Saifedean also discuss money as it exists today, including the role of central banks and the eurodollar system. They end with a discussion of what the financial system of the future will look like, including why Nik is confident that both bitcoin and the US dollar will continue to exist throughout his lifetime, and why we should be concerned about the rise of CBDCs.

 Resources

• Nik’s 2018 essay The Time Value of Bitcoin.
• Nik’s 2019 essay The Lightning Network Reference Rate.
• Nik’s book Layered Money on Amazon.
• Explanation of the Bretton Woods System on Mises Wiki.
• Bank of International Settlements paper on the Triffin Dilemma, referenced in Layered Money.
• Bank of International Settlements paper on Central Bank Digital Currencies, referenced in Layered Money.
• 1971 paper by Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, The Euro-dollar Market: Some First Principles, referenced in Layered Money.

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

NYDIG - https://nydig.com

Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io/ 

OKCoin - https://okcoin.com/

Nodl - https://www.nodl.it/

Coldcard - https://coldcardwallet.com/

CoinBits App - https://coinbitsapp.com/

In this episode Saifedean talks to Knut Svanholm, author of Bitcoin: Sovereignty through mathematics and Bitcoin: Independence reimagined. They discuss what a “hyperbitcoinized” world might look like, to what extent it might reduce the need for human labor, and how quickly its economy might grow. Both Saifedean and Knut also talk about Austrian School economists Mises, Rothbard and Hoppe, and how key concepts in their writing – such as time preference and scarcity – can be applied to bitcoin. In the Q&A, Knut shares his views on the likelihood of greater sovereignty on the high seas, whether global government control is increasing or decreasing, and why the next big battle within the bitcoin community could be over the design of the satoshi symbol!

 Resources

• Knut’s Twitter account.
• Knut’s book Bitcoin: Sovereignty through mathematics
• Knut’s book Bitcoin: Independence reimagined
• Human Action by Ludwig von Mises
• Man, Economy and State by Murray Rothbard
• Economic Science and the Austrian Method by Hans Hermann Hoppe
• Bitcoin is Time by Gigi
• Knut’s video Bitcoin’s Adoption Curve Will Not be S-shaped
• The Austrian Theory of Money by Murray Rothbard
• The End of Socialism and the Calculation Debate Revisited by Murray Rothbard
• The Anatomy of the State by Murray Rothbard

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

NYDIG - https://nydig.com

Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io/ 

OKCoin - https://okcoin.com/

Nodl - https://www.nodl.it/

Coldcard - https://coldcardwallet.com/

CoinBits App - https://coinbitsapp.com/

Lecture delivered on Sept 17, 2021, to the Property and Freedom Society in Bodrum, Turkey, at the invitation of Professor Hans Hermann Hoppe. In this lecture, Saifedean discusses the relationship between time and preference and hard money. Saifedean argues that the ability to hold a form of money that holds its value into the future reduces the uncertainty surrounding the future, leading to less discounting of the future and thus a lower time preference. The lowering of time preference is what allows for the process of civilization to take place, with increasing capital accumulation, rising productivity, and improving living standards. Drawing on his research into the gold standard, the fiat standard, and the bitcoin standard, Saifedean illustrates several societal and economic trends which illustrate this relationship. 

Watch Video presentation on Youtube.

THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS

NYDIG - https://nydig.com

Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io/ 

OKCoin - https://okcoin.com/

Nodl - https://www.nodl.it/

Coldcard - https://coldcardwallet.com/

CoinBits App - https://coinbitsapp.com/

October 4th 2021.

In this episode Saifedean talks to bitcoin journalist Pete Rizzo about bitcoin maximalism, altcoins and Satoshi. They discuss objectivity in journalism, what constitutes a “neutral” stance on altcoins for journalists, and how bitcoin differentiates itself from other cryptocurrencies through its high degree of decentralization. They also discuss the role that Satoshi and his disappearance had in shaping today's bitcoin, and whether Satoshi was motivated by studying Austrian economics. They also discuss the late Mircea Popescu's underrated role in articulating and demonstrating bitcoin's immutability, resistance to capture, and sovereignty. In the Q&A session, Pete answers questions about potential attack vectors for bitcoin and explains his views on the likelihood of hyperbitcoinization.

Related links:

• Pete’s article Against Cryptocurrency: The Ethical Argument for Bitcoin Maximalism on Forbes
• The Yield On Money Reconsidered by Hans Hermann Hoppe
• Article explaining that a quarter of all Ethereum nodes run on AWS
• Pete’s Bitcoin Magazine article The Last Days of Satoshi
• The Blocksize War by Jonathan Bier of Bitmex Research 
• Murray Rothbard’s views on money
• Pete Rizzo’s obituary of Mircea Popescu
• Official blog of Mircea Popescu
• Outline of Knut Svanholm’s argument on hyperbitcoinization, referenced during the Q&A
• Pete Rizzo’s profiles on Twitter, Bitcoin Magazine and Forbes

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

NYDIG - https://nydig.com

Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io/ 

OKCoin - https://okcoin.com/

Nodl - https://www.nodl.it/

Coldcard - https://coldcardwallet.com/

CoinBits App - https://coinbitsapp.com/

In this episode, Saifedean takes questions from regular seminar attendees on bitcoin fungibility, bitcoin price models and central bank digital currencies. The discussion focusses on whether the ability of governments and private analysts to monitor on-chain bitcoin transactions poses a threat to its fungibility, and whether this matters. Saifedean also answers questions on how PlanB’s stock to flow model has so accurately predicted bitcoin price movements and what CBDCs have in common with the currency of the Soviet Union.

Related links:

• PlanB on Twitter
• PlanB on The Bitcoin Standard Podcast
• Mises.org article about Paul Samuelson’s textbook, Economics, that praised the Soviet Union

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

NYDIG - https://nydig.com

Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io/ 

OKCoin - https://okcoin.com/

Nodl - https://www.nodl.it/

Coldcard - https://coldcardwallet.com/

CoinBits App - https://coinbitsapp.com/

In this interview with the Mises Institute's Economics for Business podcast, Saifedean discusses his entrepreneurial work on saifedean.com: what is the business model, why he decided to leave behind the malinvestment of academia and work independently, how bitcoin was instrumental in this move, the benefits of independent knowledge entrepreneurship, and why this is the beginning of a growing trend worldwide.

THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS

NYDIG - https://nydig.com

Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io/ 

OKCoin - https://okcoin.com/

Nodl - https://www.nodl.it/

Coldcard - https://coldcardwallet.com/

CoinBits App - https://coinbitsapp.com/

In this episode Saifedean talks to Dr Terence Kealey, adjunct scholar at The Cato Institute, about government funding of science. They discuss the history of technological development including how the Industrial Revolution was able to take place in Britain at a time of limited government and no significant state support for science. They cover how western government involvement in science accelerated during the atmosphere of panic that followed the 1957 launch of Sputnik, and why the misguided policies that followed were based on flawed economic assumptions. Terence and Saifedean also critique some popular misconceptions about how scientific progress happens, including the influential work of Philippe Aghion, Ken Arrow and Mariana Mazzucato.

Related links:

• Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations 
• Rand Institute paper on government funding of science by Ken Arrow and Richard Nelson
• Ludwig von Mises’ critique of socialism
• Why Most Published Research Findings Are False by John P. A. Ioannidis 
• The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz 
• Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact by Ludwik Fleck
• Introduction to Jason Potts 
• Terence Kealey’s book Breakfast is a Dangerous Meal
• Terence’s articles on Mazzucato are here and here
• Open: How Collaboration and Curiosity Shaped Humankind Paperback by Johan Norberg

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

NYDIG - https://nydig.com

Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io/ 

OKCoin - https://okcoin.com/

Nodl - https://www.nodl.it/

Coldcard - https://coldcardwallet.com/

CoinBits App - https://coinbitsapp.com/

In this episode Saifedean talks to regular seminar attendees about some common criticisms of hard money made by inflationist economists, and why these criticisms represent a misunderstanding of why recessions happen and how they are resolved. The conversation touches on the reluctance of mainstream economists to address the causes of The Great Depression, why they mistakenly attribute its length to the inflexibility of the gold standard, and how Austrian Business Cycle Theory provides the only coherent explanation for what happened. Saifedean draws parallels between these criticisms and popular hard money criticisms of bitcoin to show why they are also mistaken.

Resources

• A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960 by Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz
• Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression 1919-1939 – Barry Eichengreen
• Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain by Andreas Antonopoulos
• Platform for running your own personal bitcoin and Lightning Network node
• Budgeting software recommended by Pavao
• Bitcoin debit card recommended by Pavao

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

NYDIG - https://nydig.com

Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io/ 

OKCoin - https://okcoin.com/

Nodl - https://www.nodl.it/

Coldcard - https://coldcardwallet.com/

CoinBits App - https://coinbitsapp.com/