The Plan B Podcast

We know, we know... we haven't uploaded in quite some time and we apologise for it! But we definitely think that this latest episode makes up for the wait.

Our guest today is Rob Price. Rob is an economist, former head of asset allocation at a top South African pension fund, and currently manages a Bitcoin investment fund in the US.

Eswee met up with Rob for an in-person interview to get Rob's insights on the latest happenings in the Bitcoin space. They chat about the importance of sound money, deep-dive into inflation and wealth inequality, and dissect crazy central bank policies over the last couple of months.

It's a great discussion and we're certain you'll enjoy it!

Vandag, in ons eerste Afrikaanse Plan B episode, gesels Tian en Eswee met Dawie Roodt, een van Suid-Afrika se voorste ekonome. Ons takel verskeie onderwerpe soos die geskiedenis van geld, monetêre beleid, en waar Bitcoin in die prentjie pas.

Dawie is 'n ongelooflike denker en ons sien uit om hierdie insiggewende episode met julle te deel!

Farzam Ehsani is the co-founder and CEO of VALR, a company providing fast trades, dependable digital wallets, and industry-leading security. VALR supports over 50 cryptocurrencies, which is the largest crypto-offering in South Africa.

Farzam obtained a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. He previously worked as the blockchain lead at Rand Merchant Bank, and also served as the chairperson of the South African Financial Blockchain Consortium.

His insights into cryptocurrency are profound and definitely worth the listen!

VALR: https://www.valr.com/

Farzam: @farzamehsani on Twitter

We’ve got a very special guest for this episode, Chris Becker.

Chris is a blockchain lead on Investec, and he’s been very profoundly involved with Bitcoin and crypto in general in the last few years. He’s also probably one of the foremost crypto thinkers, certainly in South African social media now, and in general.

He changed some of our views on how to position ourselves to benefit from the current Bitcoin and crypto cycle. He’s very bullish on Ethereum and DeFi, which changed our predisposition on exclusively liking Bitcoin and gave a fresh perspective on cryptos like Ethereum and DeFi.

We delved into the use-cases of Ethereum and what is going on there at the moment, such as all the protocols being built on Web 3.0. As Chris eloquently said, the moment he snapped exactly what this is all about, he decided to spend the rest of his life working on this, full time.

- Eswee Bothma and Tian Alberts

This week I'm not joined by my co-host, Tian Alberts, but he is joining me next week.

For this episode, it's going to be a very special one. We're speaking with Greg Foss, all the way from Canada. Greg is a market veteran with more than 30 years' experience in high yield fixed income, which really gives him a unique perspective with regards to Bitcoin. 

We explore a wide variety of topics in the podcast, including recent central bank monetary policy, which borders on modern monetary theory, recent Bitcoin price action, and especially his thesis of Bitcoin being portfolio insurance. 

He also makes a bit of fun of my South African accent, and we have a lot of fun on the podcast.

Sluit aan by Eswee Bothma en gaste in bespreking van kriptogeldeenhede soos Bitcoin en die tegnologie waarop dit aangedryf word. Bitcoin hou belangrike implikasies vir die tradisionele finansiële sisteem, regulering van transaksies, en belastingheffing in. Dit maak ook ‘n nuwe wêreld van moontlikhede oop wat die outonomie en vryheid van individue en gemeenskappe betref. Deesdae is dit moontlik vir individue om toenemend afstand te doen van die staat se monopolie op geld, die noukeurige regulering van bates en blootstelling aan konfiskasie. Hulle doen dit deur Plan B te kies. Regerings se reaksies hierop is tot dusver gemeng, met sommige lande wat ‘n algehele verbod op die verhandeling van Bitcoin daargestel het, en byvoorbeeld sommige state in Amerika wat dit omhels.

Join Eswee Bothma, Tian Alberts and guests in discussing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and the technology on which it is powered. Bitcoin has important implications for the traditional financial system, transaction regulation, and taxation. It also opens up a new world of possibilities regarding the autonomy and freedom of individuals and communities. Nowadays, it is possible for individuals to increasingly relinquish the state's monopoly on money, the strict regulation of assets and exposure to confiscation. They do this by choosing Plan B. Governments' responses to this have so far been mixed, with some countries imposing a total ban on Bitcoin trading, and some embracing it.