62. El Salvador on The Bitcoin Standard
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 Juni 20211h 2min
61. Why bitcoin can’t be controlled by councils
In today’s seminar Saifedean talks to regular seminar attendees about the Bitcoin Mining Council: a recently formed group of North American bitcoin miners that aims to “promote energy usage transparency [and] accelerate sustainability initiatives worldwide.” They discuss why centralized attempts to alter bitcoin are unlikely to succeed without broad community consensus, what we can learn from the proposed SegWit2x software upgrade of 2017, and why the claims of some popular green energy initi...
10 Juni 20211h 2min
60. Bitcoin and the Rise of Central Bank Digital Currencies with Simon Dixon
In this episode Saifedean talks to Bitcoin Angel investor Simon Dixon about central bank digital currencies and Bitcoin in the context of today’s economy. They cover why CBDCs represent a radical monetary reform that would give governments unprecedented surveillance power, how the IMF is struggling to find relevance, why Bitcoin represents a lifeboat during times of uncertainty, and why we’re living in the most exciting time in financial history. Resources Simon’s Emergency Broadcast - ...
1 Juni 20211h 20min
59. Bitcoin: The Most Islamic Form of Money? with Harris Irfan
In today’s episode Saifedean talks to former investment banker and author of Heaven’s Bankers, Harris Irfan. They discuss Harris’ decades of experiences in Islamic finance and what sparked his interest in bitcoin as a Muslim. Harris explains why bitcoin might be the most sharia-compatible money, why the decentralized nature of bitcoin should be appealing to Muslims, and what Islamic scholars get wrong about bitcoin. We then discuss whether a hard free market money like bitcoin would make fina...
27 Maj 20211h 23min
58. Taxation, Bitcoin and the State with Dominic Frisby
In this episode Saifedean talks to libertarian author and comedian Dominic Frisby about the history of taxation, the rise of Bitcoin and whether we are moving towards a more or less statist world. They cover the story of how Dominic first found out about Bitcoin in December 2010, how voluntary taxation worked in ancient Greece, the rise of digital nomads, and whether land value tax represents the “least bad tax”. Links National Debt Clock of the United States: https://www.usdebtclock.org/Domi...
24 Maj 20211h 23min
57. Elon Musk: The Fiat Rockefeller
In this episode Saifedean talks to regular seminar attendees about Elon Musk’s recent bitcoin comments, and what they teach us about him & his business empire. Saifedean compares Elon Musk to John D. Rockefeller – both the richest men in the world in their eras – and discusses the extent to which their innovations have had an impact on the lives of everyday people, to give us an idea of how fiat alters society. To become the richest man in the world, Rockefeller built the modern industria...
20 Maj 20211h 1min
56. Free Private Cities and Bitcoin with Rahim Taghizadegan
In this episode Saifedean talks to Rahim Taghizadegan, the president of the Free Private Cities Foundation, and one of the few Austrian School economists still operating in Austria. They discuss the history of the Austrian School, the problems of modern fiat academia and why Rahim sees Bitcoin as an essential part of the monetary infrastructure that would support Free Private Cities. Resources The Raven of Zurich: The Memoirs of Felix Somary: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Raven-Zurich-Memoi...
17 Maj 20211h 58min
55. Is easy money good for exports?
In today’s seminar Saifedean talks to regular attendees about whether increasing a nation’s exports should be seen as a desirable policy goal, and why countries that devalue their currencies don’t necessarily export more. The discussion focusses on the post-war experience of Germany and Switzerland and how these countries grew prosperous through maintenance of a strong currency. Books referenced during the discussion include: Gold Wars: The Battle Against Sound Money as Seen From a Swiss Pers...
12 Maj 202158min
