252. The Gold Standard: Chapters 1-4

In this episode Saifedean talks to Ben Gagnon, Chief Mining Officer at Bifarms, a Canadian bitcoin mining company that accounts for 1-2% of global hash power. Ben tells the story of how he became involved in bitcoin after missing an opportunity to buy 100 bitcoin for $70 in 2010. He and Saifedean discuss when it makes sense for people and companies to mine bitcoin, whether it’s a good idea to invest in bitcoin mining companies, and how events such as China’s recent mining clampdown will affec...

13 Heinä 20211h 38min

In this episode Saifedean talks to regular seminar attendees about why bitcoin operates like a machine. They discuss why – like a washing machine – bitcoin continues to serve people who use it regardless of whether they understand the mechanics of how it works, why bitcoin’s critics are analogous to luddites, and why money should be understood as a private market good, rather than a public good. Links referenced: @s2fmultiple on TwitterFor Ludwig von Mises’ definition of money as a medium of ...

9 Heinä 20211h 8min

Saifedean's seminar is joined by Neil Woodfine, Head of Marketing at Unchained Capital, who lived and worked in the bitcoin industry in China since 2014. Neil talks about his experience navigating the unpredictable Chinese regulatory environment, how he views China’s recent ban on bitcoin mining in light of previous Chinese bitcoin policy, the implications for the bitcoin network, how Chinese miners adapt to these bans, and the state of bitcoin trading and payments in China in general. Links ...

4 Heinä 20211h 12min

In this episode Saifedean talks to Greenpeace co-founder and “drop out” Dr Patrick Moore about the misperceptions and hysteria surrounding climate change. They discuss the anti-human philosophy of modern environmentalist movements, the limitations of computer modelling as a means of making long-term climate forecasts and why there’s a case for actually increasing rather than decreasing human CO2 emissions. Saifedean and Patrick also touch on broader topics covered in Patrick’s book Fake Invis...

1 Heinä 20211h 43min

In this episode Saifedean is joined by Vijay Boyapati, author of one of the most widely known articles for bitcoin beginners: The Bullish Case for Bitcoin. In this wide-ranging discussion Saifedean and Vijay analyse bitcoin’s rise through their shared framework of the Austrian School of Economics. They discuss Vijay’s four frameworks for valuing bitcoin, how technology “hype cycles” can help us understand bitcoin’s price movements and why fiat economists like Paul Krugman are so keen to under...

27 Kesä 20211h 53min

This seminar discusses the problems of economic modeling, using examples from environmental, energy, and macro economics. Saifedean explains how his graduate school experience trying to model energy markets led him to appreciate Mises' calculation problem and the problems of complex quantitative predictive models. What are the problems with attempting to quantify economic and environmental impacts of different fuels? Are the models being applied to bitcoin mining useful? As these absurd model...

20 Kesä 20211h 12min

We often hear bitcoin is a waste, but rarely will someone present a full accounting of all the costs and the benefits associated with bitcoin. In this seminar, based on a chapter from upcoming The Fiat Standard, Saifedean attempts a full accounting of the costs that go into making bitcoin work, from electricity to infrastructure, and compares them to the benefits bitcoin provides: appreciating savings, money transfer, and most importantly, obsoleting fiat money, with its massive costs. We est...

16 Kesä 202157min

In this episode Saifedean talks to regular seminar attendees about El Salvador’s recent adoption of bitcoin as legal tender. They discuss how this is a test of the importance of legal tender laws for monetary choice, and the drawbacks of legal tender laws. Will this hasten bitcoin's adoption in daily transactions? Or will it encourage hodling? What impact would wider use of bitcoin have on El Salvador’s exports? Why are governments without their own currencies more likely to adopt bitcoin? Ca...

13 Kesä 20211h 2min