The Bitcoin Standard Podcast

How did the CFA franc come to be the common currency of 14 West and Central African nations? Who controls it and why did it suddenly lose half of its value in 1994? In this episode, we are joined by software engineer and founder of Bitcoin Developers Academy, Fodé Diop, for a discussion on the fascinating monetary history of West Africa. Fodé explains how the CFA franc has allowed France to maintain economic dominance in West Africa, how the 1994 devaluation affected his family, and why he is supporting bitcoin adoption as means of empowering Africans and increasing financial inclusion. Fodé also explains the work his is doing to support the development of Lightning applications and his plans for the Africa Bitcoin Conference: the first ever bitcoin and Lightning conference in West Africa.ReferencesFodé on Twitter.Bitcoin Developers Academy website.The Fodé Diop Radio Show.Fighting Monetary Colonialism with Open-Source Code by Alex Gladstein.Data on broad money supply growth in Senegal.The Mobile Wave by Michael Saylor.Open-source Lightning Dev Kit and Bitcoin Dev Kit.Africa Bitcoin Conference website (Accra, Dec 7-9).Shortbits blogBen Arc Lightning point of sale page on Github.Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

In this seminar, learners at saifedean.com discuss the current state of the fiat monetary system as the world experiences the dollar strengthening and other fiat currencies weakening. Regular seminar attendee Nasr El-Hadi discusses the history and the current state of the Libyan monetary system, where the central bank has split into two central banks each issuing the same currency with a different signature, with hilarious and disastrous consequences. Find out what happens when fiat 'hard forks', and how bitcoin and stablecoins are serving as a lifeline for Libyans who have no functioning monetary or banking system in this incredible adventure in Late Stage Fiat! Nasr El-Hadi is a Libyan bitcoiner living in London, and his twitter is @NasrElhadi.

In this episode, CEO of bitcoin mining company Iris Energy Dan Roberts joins us to discuss whether bitcoin can (and should) help fix renewable energy. Dan explains the problems that intermittent wind and solar energy create for power grids, and how his company works to solve them through bitcoin mining. He and Saifedean discuss whether grids would be better off only using reliable energy sources, how bitcoin’s difficulty adjustment forces miners to become more efficient, and why Iris Energy has chosen to mine bitcoin only. Dan also shares his views on why bitcoin’s game theoretic nature means it is set up to survive and why 51% attacks don’t represent a credible threat to the network’s security.ResourcesIris Energy website.Iris Energy on TwitterIris Energy on LinkedInArticle on recent blackouts with Texas and link to intermittent energy.Related episode on the future of bitcoin mining and hydropower with Ben Gagnon.Climate-related episodes with Tom Nelson, Alex Epstein and Patrick Moore.Article by Jimmy Song explaining why the threat of a 51% attack on bitcoin is overblown.Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

Bitcoin educator and investor Giacomo Zucco joins us to explain why he thinks bitcoin cannot be hard money unless it is dark money. We discuss: How dark is bitcoin given that its ledger of transactions is public, and given the recent identification of several hackers through chain analysis? Is bitcoin’s privacy overestimated by bitcoiners? What chance does the average user have at remaining anonymous? Does bitcoin need to be anonymous to remain secure? Can bitcoin survive government attack if most coins’ owners are known to governments?ResourcesGiacomo on TwitterGiacomo’s article on the history of bitcoin as a privacy-focussed project.Giacomo’s article on common misconceptions about bitcoin privacy, and why privacy matters.For further discussion of the relationship between hard and dark money, see Giacomo’s conversation with Stephan Livera.Interview where Giacomo rates the top 20 cryptocurrencies and makes the case that every project that isn’t bitcoin is a scam. Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Has Saifedean changed his mind on stablecoins? After handling $7b of redemptions in 48 hours, has USDT proven its resilience? Could regulated fiat banks handle this level of redemption? What happens to stablecoins if their adoption continues to grow? Can they replace foreign central banks as dollar providers to the world? Will they become major holders of US Treasuries? How will central banks deal with stablecoins? Are stablecoins a gateway to bitcoin? Can USDT be built on top of bitcoin's lightning network? This seminar hosts one of the leaders in the industry: Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex and Tether to discuss these questions and a lot more on why Bitfinex positions itself as a "bitcoin first" exchange, its goals in Latin America, their work shaping El Salvador's new securities law, and their bitcoin education efforts.ReferencesPaolo on Twitter.Bitfinex official website.Blog post announcing Bitfinex's role in designing a El Salvador securities law.Paolo discussion of Bitfinex hack on YouTube.Plan ₿ summer school in Lugano.Bitfinex PayArticle on launch of Tether Mexican Peso.Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his new course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

In this episode Saifedean joins Isabel Oakeshott and James Melville for an interview at the Speakeasy Podcast. They discuss why Saifedean decided to write The Bitcoin Standard, his views on the recent bitcoin price dip and the impact of the fiat “magic money tree” on society.ResourcesThe Speakeasy podcast on Apple Podcasts.Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard available in 20 languages.Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard available in English, Turkish, Spanish and French.All of Saifedean’s podcast episodes are available at saifedean.com/podcastSaifedean on Twitter.Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his new course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

In this interview with the Practical Islamic Finance podcast, Saifedean discusses Bitcoin from an Islamic perspective, and makes the case for why it is more compatible with Islamic Sharia law than government money. Whereas the creation of government money happens through the creation of interest-bearing debt which is forbidden in Islam, the creation of bitcoin is no different than the creation of a market commodity, with a competitive market for its production. Bitcoin's decentralization makes it uniquely different from all other digital currencies because it makes it a free market commodity, and not a tool that allows its issuer control over its users. ResourcesVisit saifedean.com/arabic to download The Bitcoin Standard and Arabic language bitcoin materials for free.Podcast episode The Problem with Interest with Tarek El Diwany for discussion of riba and decentralization in publishing the Koran.Tarek El Diwany’s book The Problem with Interest.Podcast episode Islamic Finance and Bitcoin with Safdar Alam for discussion of how modern Islamic Finance “mimics” the fiat system, and is in need for reform.Safdar Alam’s Twitter thread on why Islamic banking needs to reform.Safdar Alam’s textbook Islamic Banking in Practice.Podcast episode Bitcoin: The Most Islamic Form of Money? with Harris Irfan for discussion of why bitcoin could be the most sharia-compliant form of money.Harris Irfan’s book Heaven’s Bankers for an exportation of the hidden world of modern Islamic Finance, and blog drawing on its contents.Harris Irfan’s article Cryptocurrency and the Future of the Islamic Economy.The Blocksize War by Jonathan Bier for discussion of failed attempts to change the consensus parameters of bitcoin.Keynes: The Man by Murray Rothbard for discussion of the lifestyle and motivations of John Maynard Keynes.See chapter “Bitcoin is Halal” of Bitcoin is Venice for discussion of how bitcoin dramatically reduces the need for debt and encourages a financial system strongly aligned to Islamic principles. Also available as standalone article.The Practical Islamic Finance Podcast.Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard available in 20 languages.Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard available in English, Turkish, Spanish and French.All of Saifedean's podcast episodes are available at saifedean.com/podcastSaifedean on Twitter.

Tarek El Diwany’s book “The Problem with Interest” has attracted attention from scholars of Islamic finance and bitcoiners alike, including Allen Farrington, whose newly published book, Bitcoin Is Venice, draws heavily on Tarek's work. In this episode, Saifedean hosts Tarek and Allen to talk about the morality of lending with interest, why the practice is prohibited in Islam, and how an economy would function without interest rates. They discuss how monetary systems that require the creation of ever more debt impact human time preference, capital accumulation and morality, and whether interest would emerge in a free market monetary system like bitcoin?ResourcesTarek’s book The Problem with InterestKreatoc Zest’s website.Saifedean’s podcast episodes on Islamic finance with Safdar Alam and Harris Irfan. Article on William Cobbett’s opposition to suspension of the gold standard during the Napoleonic Wars.Selected Writings on Economics by Nassau Senior.See Plato’s Laws, Book 5 and Aristotle’s Politics, Book I, 10, no. 5 for Ancient Greek views on usury.A History of Interest Rates by Sidney Homer and Richard Sylla.Allen Farrington’s book Bitcoin is Venice on Amazon.Saifedean’s podcast episode Allen Farrington’s adventures with Fiat Intellectuals.Saifedean’s podcast episode Bitcoin Strategy with Michael Saylor.Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin StandardSaifedean’s second book, The Fiat StandardEnjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his new course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

In perhaps his most comprehensive interview to date, Saifedean talks to Lex Fridman about the history of money, the foundations of economics, and why bitcoin represents a pathway to a more peaceful and prosperous world. Starting from Lex’s question “What is money?”, Saifedean draws on insights from his most recent book, The Fiat Standard, to take the listener on a four-hour historical journey. He explains how money emerged as a market good; why the gold standard developed in Britain and spread across the world; and the intriguing historical circumstances that led to government-controlled fiat money becoming the global medium of exchange. By asking fundamental questions about money, the purpose of economics, and the technical foundations of bitcoin, Lex prompts Saifedean to present a first-principles case for free exchange, non-aggression and bitcoin. Their conversation also includes Saifedean’s reflections on his upbringing in Palestine, how to make the most of our short time on earth, and advice to younger generations. ResourcesLex Fridman on Twitter.Lex Fridman’s podcast website.Carl Menger’s Principles of Economics: the founding text of the Austrian School, published in 1871.Human Action by Ludwig von Mises, published in English in 1949.Critical overview of John Maynard Keynes’ The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money in the Journal of Libertarian Studies.Saifedean Twitter thread on scientists who dismissed flight as impossible at the time the Wright brothers were inventing the airplane. Includes comments by Lord Kelvin and the New York Times.Graphic showing technological progress in Britain during the gold standard. For further discussion, see The Bitcoin Standard section: Innovations: “Zero to One” versus “One to Many”, and episode 74 of The Bitcoin Standard Podcast: The Real Drivers of Technological Progress.Saifedean paper on the decline of the aviation industry since the 1970s. For further discussion see chapter 10 of The Fiat Standard on Fiat Fuels.The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode 108: A New World Monetary Order The ramifications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Bitcoin Net Zero paper by Nic Carter and Ross Stevens. See page 38 for comparison of bitcoin network energy consumption compared with tumble driers and other common household appliances.Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Fiat money doesn't just affect economic exchange, its impact on society is much wider. In this episode, Marty Bent, host of the Tales from the Crypt Podcast, interviews Saifedean about the ways fiat money encourages negative societal impacts ranging from climate alarmism to soil degradation to poor diets. They focus on the widely accepted need to transition to from fossil fuels to “renewable” energy and how government funding of science encourages the publication of studies that predict catastrophes and propose state intervention to avoid them. They also discuss how government statistics are manipulated to underplay the negative impacts of fiat and how people can opt out by adopting a bitcoin standard.ResourcesMarty Bent’s website.Marty Bent on Twitter.The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels by Alex Epstein.The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episodes with Alex Epstein here and here.The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode Is CO2 the Climate Control Knob? with Tom Nelson.The St Louis Fed compares the cost and protein content of turkey and soy.Marty Bent podcast episode with Untapped Growth for discussion of regenerative farming. Link to Saifedean podcast with Nina Teicholz for discussion of fiat nutrition.Bitcoin mining council estimates of the bitcoin network’s global energy usage.Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard. See chapter “The Cost of Fiat Fuels” for statistics on growth in per capita energy consumption falling from the 1970s.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.