“You can imagine a world in which people actually have more power than institutions and governments…Bitcoin has the ultimate power in making the world a better place for people.”— Nik BhatiaNik Bhatia is the founder of ‘The Bitcoin Layer’ & author of ‘Layered Money’. This interview delves into Nik's work in the Bitcoin industry and his background in trading interest rates. We discuss the impact of low-interest rates on the economy, the relationship between inflation and interest rates, and the impact of central bank actions on markets. The conversation expands to include global recessions, the Chinese economy, and the future of Bitcoin. - - - - The unprecedented period of low-interest rates that followed the 2008-09 financial crisis was deemed a golden opportunity for those leveraging debt. However, this environment hid many significant dangers. Chief among them was the encouragement of irrational investments. The problem comes, as we have seen, when this period of low interest ends. A reasonable cost of capital provides a check on such behaviour.Interest rates are influenced by both the market and central banks, with central banks often lagging behind market movements. When the central bank raises rates, they are adjusting the target rates for various lending markets. There is therefore an interplay between central bank actions and market forces in determining interest rates. In addition, there is feedback as investors anticipate interest rate hikes and adjust their investments accordingly. As we have seen, central banks have used interest rates to temper inflation. This is a crude tool and can risk tipping economies into recession. Purchasing Managers' Indexes (PMIs) can be used to analyse economic activity at the nation-state level; the PMIs in Europe are all in contractionary territory, indicating a deteriorating economy. The issue is, that in our globalised economy, such problems leak into other economies, such as China. The underlying issue in such a situation is the significant risks associated with the traditional financial instruments of the fiat economy. Financial institutions' liabilities are approaching concerning levels. The problem is that such liabilities are essentially infinite. This is why Bitcoin’s value tends to rise when central banks implement easing measures, as many can see the eventual unwinding of the fiat system. The question is how close are we to this unwinding?- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidenceOrange Pill App - Stack friends who stack sats-----WBD713 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“.1% to 1% is gargantuan numbers, just extraordinary numbers, if bitcoin does in fact achieve 1% balance sheet capacity everywhere…it makes a lot of sense, it’s the perfect currency to settle between enemies for oil, which creates enemies.”— CheckmateCheckmate is Glassnode’s Lead On-chain Analyst and creator of checkonchain. In this interview, we discuss Bitcoin investing and market analysis, Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and housing market bubbles, the current economic situation, the potential future role of Bitcoin as a settlement currency for nation-states, and the power and unstoppable nature of Bitcoin.- - - - Checkmate is one of the best on-chain analysts, leading Glassnode’s on-chain research and data analysis, and also creating checkonchain to provide a suite of Bitcoin on-chain charts. This show’s discussion therefore focused on the Bitcoin market and trends, including the impacts of Luna and FTX on market sentiment. We also delved into the concept of profit and how it can be measured, and the importance of understanding market indicators and making informed decisions.Our conversation also took in the macroeconomic situation. We discussed the housing market and the potential risks involved in buying a house. We discussed the high ratio of median house prices to median income in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, referring to it as a "Ponzi scheme." We also considered the current economic situation: its challenges and the need for individuals to be aware of how the system works.Specifically, people need to be aware of the impact of inflation and taxes on their finances. Whilst Bitcoin is a hedge for some, others feel the need to speculate and gamble on markets in the fiat system. Argentina is a valuable example in this context, as Argentinians need to manage their money in the face of triple-digit inflation. As people’s wealth can rapidly evaporate in such circumstances, it brings into sharp relief the concept of money as a proxy for time. Towards the end of our conversation, we talked about the power and unstoppable nature of Bitcoin: Bitcoin's design assumes human greed and self-interest, which makes it a powerful and unstoppable organism. Checkmate also provided his opinion on the potential future role of Bitcoin as a settlement currency for nation-states, speculating that nation-states may start testing Bitcoin as a liquid layer on top of their gold reserves, driven by the involvement of oil producers.- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidenceOrange Pill App - Stack friends who stack sats-----WBD712 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“We know from history that increased trade reduces the likelihood of armed conflict…so what if Bitcoin can contribute to world peace?”— Nik BhatiaOn September 9th What Bitcoin Did hosted a live show in Sydney. In this second of two podcasts, the guests were the founder of The Bitcoin Layer & Author of Layered Money Nik Bhatia, & and Bitcoin analyst & partner at Crest Willy Woo. Across these interviews, we discussed various topics related to Bitcoin, including its Bitcoin's volatility, its potential as a global currency and the prospects for Bitcoin's global adoption. The show includes the Q&A from the event.- - - - This is the second of two podcasts sharing interviews from What Bitcoin Did’s first Australian live show that was recorded in Sydney. However, this show is with 2 regular guests of the podcast who always bring unique and invaluable insights into Bitcoin’s evolution: Nik Bhatia and Willy Woo.Nik is an adjunct Professor of Finance at the University of Southern California. We talk about how he has introduced Bitcoin into the curriculum following the success of his book “Layered Money”. Nik’s course covers the technical aspects of Bitcoin, starting with the white paper and delving into topics like blockchain, mining, and cryptography. He also contextualizes Bitcoin within the broader financial world and discusses its valuation and differences from other cryptocurrencies.Nik also highlights his divergent opinions about Bitcoin. He doesn’t think it is a magic bullet: Nik believes it will take mass adoption for it to start fixing things in the economic system. And yet, Nik is passionate about Bitcoin’s incredible potential, particularly in non-US and non-western countries. The discovery of Bitcoin as a tool for financial empowerment in these regions is arguably the most exciting thing about Satoshi’s innovation. Willy has long provided great analysis of Bitcoin’s price performance. In this show, he discusses the volatility of Bitcoin returns. Willy explains that Bitcoin has historically had high volatility but is now converging with other macro assets in terms of trading range. He attributes this to the financialization of Bitcoin, with the introduction of futures and other paper markets. However, he expresses concern about the control these paper markets have over the price of Bitcoin.The conversation with Willy then shifts to Bitcoin's potential as a global currency. While lower volatility may be desirable for stability, it may not be ideal for Bitcoin's growth and adoption as a global currency. We discuss the current state of the fiat system and the potential collapse of traditional currencies, which could further drive the adoption of Bitcoin. Then, the floor was open to a Q&A with all five of my live show guests, which made clear there's always plenty to discuss!- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidenceOrange Pill App - Stack friends who stack sats-----WBD711 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“People understand what they own now, why they own it; you don’t step in front of the FTX train without knowing why the hell you’re here, that takes serious guts and serious conviction.”— CheckmateOn September 9th What Bitcoin Did hosted a live show in Sydney. In this first of two podcasts, the guests were the Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Iris Energy Daniel Roberts, Glassnode’s Lead On-chain Analyst Checkmate, & the Open Software & Lightning Network developer Rusty Russell. Across these interviews, we discussed various topics related to Bitcoin, including its meaning, its impact on people's thinking, and its potential to reshape the financial system.- - - - What Bitcoin Did’s live events are a growing part of our work. We’ve been incredibly fortunate to host shows across the US and in the UK. Now, we’ve had the huge honour of hosting a show in Sydney Australia. It is important to extend our reach into new geographies, as the number of talented people working in Bitcoin obviously extends to all corners of the world. But importantly, each geography has invaluable perspectives.This show, as with all the live shows, covered a huge amount of ground. The conversation commenced with Checkmate providing his views on the meaning of Bitcoin. He described money as time and saw Bitcoin as a source of hope and an opportunity to think differently. Further, Checkmate believes that Bitcoin can reshape our understanding of money and its role in society.Rusty Russell, a civil engineer turned Bitcoin advocate, shared his journey from scepticism about finance to working in the field. He explained that as an engineer, he views the world from a problem-solving perspective, which differs from the traditional economic viewpoint. He believes that Bitcoin defies logic for traditional economists because it is too simple and elegant for them to understand.Daniel Roberts and I talked about Iris Energy, a Bitcoin mining company that supports What Bitcoin Did. Daniel explained Bitcoin mining’s opportunity in the context of the energy market, and how Bitcoin mining acts as a demand-side battery allowing miners to adjust their energy consumption based on market pricing. We addressed the misconception that Bitcoin miners are exploiting the energy grid, emphasising that they are part of a functioning market and contribute to grid stability.The show also covered many other important topics, including the value of data to trading Bitcoin, patterns of behaviour in the Bitcoin market, the Potential of next-generation computing and AI for Bitcoin mining, the different stages of Bitcoin's development, and the potential risks and uncertainties associated with stablecoins. Watch out for the second show which has the discussion with the equally awesome pairing of Nik Bhatia and Willy Woo.- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidenceOrange Pill App - Stack friends who stack sats-----WBD710 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“The beautiful thing about Bitcoin is, if it works with baseball, it works with anything…if you think about value for value, the model, it changes everything.”— Patrick O'SullivanSteven Nelkovski is the CEO of Perth Heat and Patrick O’Sullivan is the Chief Bitcoin Officer. In this interview, we discuss sports teams adopting a Bitcoin standard, why it’s important to meet people where they are at and how Bitcoin changes the economics of sport.- - - - Perth Heat is a professional baseball team based in Perth, Western Australia. It is a foundation member of the Australian Baseball League, and is the most successful team in ABL history, having won 15 Claxton Shields championships.In November 2021, the Perth Heat became the first team in world sport to operate on a Bitcoin Standard. They pay their players and staff in Bitcoin, accept Bitcoin payments for sponsorships, merchandise, and ballpark concessions and of course holds Bitcoin on its balance sheet.Bitcoin will disrupt every industry, and sports is no different. Being early not only puts your team on the map to the global bitcoin audience, but the economic incentives are clear, teams like Perth Heat and Real Bedford have first mover advantages and are front-running the bigger clubs that will inevitably adopt Bitcoin.- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidence-----WBD709 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Bitcoin’s going to be the key ingredient to humanity going the next level, to something like the unified field theory, which is basically where we know how to control every particle in the universe; and, that’s not all that far away.”— Michael DunworthMichael Dunworth is the co-founder of Wyre Payments. In this interview, we discuss Bitcoin, private keys and the role of technology in advancing human understanding. We also talk about the significance of security, identity, and the evolving nature of society in the digital age, when the challenges of distinguishing real from fake is becoming increasingly difficult. - - - - The internet has been transformative. But, could its benefits soon be outweighed by its disbenefits? Whilst it has enabled people to connect across the world in real-time, ironically, digital technology has had a significant negative impact on human connection and community. People are increasingly finding meaningful connections with disparate online communities at the expense of developing connections with people in their immediate surroundings.Then there are the technical challenges. Technology has made it easier for impersonation and deepfake scams such that distinguishing real content from fake content has become increasingly difficult. There are plenty of examples of fake conversations involving well-known figures like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, which can deceive people into believing false information. The nature of identity in the digital age is therefore evolving quickly. There is a need for identity verification. Potential solutions are being developed. A worrying number of these involve centralised control of the verification process. There are obviously huge second-order risks of this approach. Could public key cryptography be part of the solution to verify the authenticity of digital content without harming privacy? Could Bitcoin secure more than just monetary value?But, how do we combat the atomisation of society caused by the internet? Will people regain a valuation in the importance of local communities, human connection and hard work, or, will technology continue to inflict damage on individuals, communities and the nation-state? Technology advances human understanding. But, it’s also swallowing humanity.- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidence-----WBD708 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“The first valuation framework is simple in that there’s $6.3 trillion of global trade that happens on a daily basis, and if you divide $6.3 trillion by the 900 BTC that are minted on the day you get to $7 billion a coin.”— Peter DunworthPeter Dunworth runs a multi-family office for high-net-worth families. In this interview, we discuss Bitcoin in Australia, and the reluctance of banks to embrace it despite it being the world’s most undervalued collateral. We also talk about the negative impact of state expenditure and taxation on inflation and the economy, and how markets are going to form around Bitcoin. - - - - Australia should be a natural home for Bitcoin. Back in 2013, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (Australia’s central bank) stated “There would be nothing to stop people in this country deciding to transact in some other currency in a shop if they wanted to. There’s no law against that, so we do have competing currencies.” This sentiment provides content for the mild approach the Australian government has historically employed to Bitcoin regulation.As Bitcoin and digital assets mature there are demands for legislation from some prominent Australian politicians. However, as in the US, regulators are struggling to determine how to deal with Bitcoin in comparison to other digital assets. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Australian version of the SEC, does not currently deem Bitcoin to be a financial product. This lack of regulatory clarity is why Bitcoin is yet to be fully embraced by mainstream banking in Australia. Whilst Bitcoin transactions are allowed, there are increasingly onerous banking limitations on transacting with exchanges. Essentially, banks don’t want money leaking out of their control as this reduces their ability to increase the flow of money through fractional reserve banking.It is Peter Dunworth’s opinion though that we could be at a tipping point. Bitcoin, according to Peter, is the world’s most undervalued collateral. Banks will eventually lean into this as they will be able to add it to their balance sheets and solve their current capital adequacy problems. They will then be able to leverage it as any other balance sheet asset for loans. This is why Peter believes that, in terms of the future, Bitcoin is chronically undervalued.- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidence-----WBD707 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“This software is being used to imprison people, it’s being used for compliance reasons, to censor transactions. So, if this thing is inaccurate we’re just randomly pointing fingers at people. This is neither just nor democratic.”— L0la L33tzL0la L33tz is a privacy advocate and writer. In this interview, we discuss her recent article about flaws in Chainalysis blockchain analysis software. They discuss the impact of such issues in the case against Roman Sterlingoff, who has been held in jail based on Chainalysis' evidence, the need for regulation in the blockchain surveillance industry, and Coindesk’s subsequent hesitance over L0la’s worthy article amid a conflict of interest. - - - - Roman Sterlingov has been in jail for 2 years. He has been accused of running Bitcoin Fog, a Bitcoin mixer, and laundering $334 million. No evidence has been found on any computer, thumb drive or server that links Roman to the crimes he’s accused of. The evidence that does exist has been produced by the blockchain forensics company Chainanalysis. The DoJ’s case against Roman is progressing. As part of a court hearing on the admissibility of expert testimony, Chainalysis’s head of investigation testified that there was no scientific evidence for the accuracy of their software. This is obviously a significant revelation that tests law enforcement's belief that such analysis can be used to censor transactions and imprison people. Chainalysis has thus far failed to provide key validating data and peer-reviewed studies. There are also significant doubts about the heuristics used by Chainalysis, such as the co-spend heuristic, which assumes that all inputs in a transaction belong to the same person. This heuristic fails when technologies like coin joins are used, where multiple people contribute inputs to a transaction.An underlying problem is the complete lack of regulation in the blockchain surveillance industry. There should be open-source transparency as such analysis is being used to deny people their liberty and seize their assets. But, the companies involved are driven by profit and they seek to protect their intellectual property. This has bled into the reporting on the case. CoinDesk, whose parent company is an investor in Chainalysis, initially retracted an article on this case by L0la L33tz without informing her. They later republished it. But, it calls into question some of the material conflicts of interest within the industry. To avoid a powerful nexus of special interests, it is vital that independent journalists like L0la L33tz are supported in their efforts to shine a light on such systems.- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidence-----WBD706 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“As the first time where hard asset, bearer asset money can move at the speed of telecommunications globally… it’s one of the first technologies in money that can improve it that’s not centralising, it’s arguably decentralising, and that’s what makes it different than the past 200 years of monetary innovations.”— Lyn AldenLyn Alden is a macroeconomist and investment strategist. This interview is the final of three shows where we discuss Lyn’s amazing new book: Broken Money. In this show, we recap the flaws in the modern financial system, and then we discuss the potential of Bitcoin as a decentralised solution with its ability to allow hard asset money to move globally at speed. - - - - It is becoming increasingly clear, even to people without expertise in monetary or fiscal matters, that the current economic system is in need of urgent reform. The money supply continues to inflate, rewarding large, well-connected entities at the expense of smaller ones, with liabilities shifting from the private to the public sector. At the state level, many countries are facing serious challenges in accumulating capital and making global payments. In short, money is broken.At a more fundamental level, there are serious technical limitations with current forms of money. Humans have been trying to make gold and silver easier to use for thousands of years, leading to the development of various banking tools. However, the increasing level of abstraction in these tools has caused major issues, especially with the rise of telecommunications. This has led to the current system where physical money is too slow for the modern global economy. Bitcoin is a potential solution to all these issues. It is different from previous monetary innovations as it allows hard asset money to move globally at the speed of digital communications, which could revolutionise the financial system. It is unsurprising that it has emerged at the end of the long-term debt cycle, as an innovation that unified various technical concepts developed over previous decades, with the aim of creating a form of money suitable for the digital age. But perhaps more important than the technical aspects of Bitcoin is the rigid and predictable monetary policy, which consists of two simple rules: a fixed limit of 21 million coins and a halving of the inflation rate every 210,000 blocks (approximately every four years). Its decentralised nature protects this monetary policy from being corrupted. This simplicity contrasts starkly with the complex and convoluted monetary policies of central banks and governments.Bitcoin therefore offers a global, decentralised ledger that allows for easy cross-border transactions and protects against debasement. Whilst its advantages are more immediately obvious to the people and governments in developing countries, Bitcoin’s importance extends to all people and all countries. There are always risks to Bitcoin that the community needs to be prepared for, so it is vital to educate people about Bitcoin and its long-term potential.- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidence-----WBD705 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“The amount of games and shenanigans and corruption that goes on in all these…different currencies, from the big ones and especially the small ones, it’s remarkable; and, it’s largely technological limitation that got us to this point.”— Lyn AldenLyn Alden is a macroeconomist and investment strategist. This interview is the second of three shows where we discuss Lyn’s amazing new book: Broken Money. In this show, we explore the concept of hard money, the ascendancy of paper money and the transition from gold-backed currency to fiat currency. We talk about the birth of banks, fractional reserve lending, central banks, the flaws of the Bretton Woods system, and the impact of the petrodollar. - - - - Historically, hard money like gold has been considered the ideal form of money due to its scarcity & durability. However, another aspect to consider is utility. Paper money, despite not being as hard as gold, became dominant because of its convenience and speed. Speed is perhaps one of the most important functions people demand in money: throughout history, humans have sought to make money more portable and efficient. At the same time as money was evolving, so were the institutions associated with managing money. Banks can be traced back hundreds of years with the provision of credit and the increased portability of money. The modern form of banks emerged in Europe over the past few centuries; the importance of banking to the functions of the state led to the development of central banks that financed governments, particularly during times of war. The demand for speed opened the door for the introduction of fiat currency, which offered faster and more convenient transactions. Government legal tender laws and taxes on non-monetary assets further solidified the dominance of fiat currency. But, this also opened up the distortion of money as a result of greed and abuse. The speed arbitrage provided by fiat currency has allowed for more manipulation and corruption. The evolution of fiat currency led to the emergence of the petrodollar: the United States sought to replace gold with the dollar and maintain its economic and military dominance by enabling the dollar to become the global reserve currency. However, this has negatively impacted countries outside of the US, and it’s also now affecting the US. The future of money needs a reboot. The development of a decentralized alternative will be the focus of the final show of this series.- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidence-----WBD704 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Commodity money is like nature’s ledger…bank money is basically a ledger governed by nation states…and then open-source money like Bitcoin is money governed by the users.”— Lyn AldenLyn Alden is a macroeconomist and investment strategist. In this interview, we discuss Lyn’s amazing new book: Broken Money. This show, the first in a series of three shows, delves into the history of money: the concept of money as a ledger, its different forms throughout history, as well as the properties that make a commodity suitable for use as money. - - - - One of the key concepts Lyn explores is the idea of money as a ledger, of which there are three main forms: commodity money, governed by the specific properties of the physical commodity being used as money; bank money, which is a ledger governed by nation states and managed by central banks; and, open-source money like Bitcoin, where the ledger is governed by the users, who create and maintain the rules of the system. But how did money develop?Money emerged as an innovation to solve the problems of barter, where the limitations of the double coincidence of wants and lack of trust between traders made transactions difficult. Money emerged as a liquid accounting system making transactions more efficient. Different cultures used various commodities as forms of money throughout history, including shell beads, cocoa, salt, and furs. Each type of commodity used as money had unique properties that made them suitable, such as divisibility and the ability for them to be recombined. As technology advanced, people were able to produce more of these commodities, which led to their devaluation. However, two commodities that were difficult to devalue were silver and gold. These precious metals were rarer and had a natural difficulty adjustment, making them more suitable as money.As important as the technology of money was the evolution of the theory of money. Two competing theories of money emerged: commodity theory and credit theory. Commodity theorists believed that barter was the precursor to money. However, credit as a form of money has been found in modern hunter-gatherer societies and used as an effective way of circumventing the need for commodities as money.The current paradigm is seeing bank money and credit theory coming under significant strain. Every system controlled by human administrators degrades over time, with most currencies experiencing high inflation or even hyperinflation within a human lifetime. However, despite attempts to find alternatives like the dollar or Bitcoin, nothing quite fills the void left by the local currency. How money broke will be the focus of the next show.- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Ledn - Financial services for Bitcoin hodlersBitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidence-----WBD703 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“It’s the good people that are suffering, the bad people are never going to comply with you anyway, so you’re not accomplishing anything. I do think the Bitcoin will help to change that.”— Matthew MežinskisMatthew Mežinskis is the creator of the Crypto Voices podcast and Porkopolis Economics website. In this interview, we discuss the concept of base money, a comparison of global currency valuations (including Bitcoin), COVID-19’s impact on the monetary base, limitations of the current monetary system, government debt, inflation, political problems, and the need for change. - - - - There are quite rightly real concerns over the societal implications of Central Bank Digital Currencies particularly in relation to the capacity it will give governments to erode democratic principles. However, there are already serious concerns regarding the existing system. The transmission of monetary policy, that is, the impact of central bank policy decisions on the economy, is significant. And yet, these policy decisions are done behind closed doors.Around two-thirds of the United States’ monetary base is digital: equating to 20 trillion dollars. Central banks add and remove trillions of dollars from the monetary system through keystrokes and computer strokes, increasing and reducing the bank reserves by increasingly eye-watering amounts. The latest changes have removed material liquidity from the banking system. This has caused interest rates to rise, which has resulted in banking collapses and a cost of living crisis.Some are calling for central banks to be abolished, such as Javier Milei, the libertarian candidate leading Argentinia’s presidential polls. However, central banks are closely entwined to the global economy; there is no easy way to surgically remove them without causing collateral damage to the real economy. Yet, if central banks continue on their current path there will be more currency collapses and a concentration of value in a narrowing set of global currencies. The monetary system is therefore becoming a cartel controlled by a small elite who are benefiting from this situation whilst the majority suffer. There is growing dissatisfaction with this situation and a desire for change among the general population. Bitcoin can play a role in such a change: it both offers a more efficient and less restrictive alternative, but also, educates people as to the nature of the problem with a centralized monetary system.- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Ledn - Financial services for Bitcoin hodlersBitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidence-----WBD702 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.