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The Best Form of Money
Stablecoins, the Fed, and the best form of money
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The Truth About Stablecoins!
Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that maintains a peg to the dollar by holding dollars in reserve for every unit of the cryptocurrency - of course, they are fundamentally different than Bitcoin. Although they, like Bitcoin, can be traded globally, 24/7, and digitally, they are simply cryptographically secured claims on fiat dollars, still vulnerable to debasement.
They seem to be a topic of more keen interest from the US government than Bitcoin. Why the interest? There are a few strong incentives. For one, although they are issued by private companies today, they are sure to end up under rule of the government/central bank as CBDC's (Central Bank Digital Currencies), with all of the capability for surveillance and control.
Stablecoin proponents = "Non-Fed CBDC promoters"
Additionally, they are some of the largest holders of US debt, which they use to back the currency. And maybe the government is worried about long term demand from banks and investors for their debt, while there is interest from plebs all over the world in holding dollars, as their currencies devalue even faster.
Meanwhile, we have the Secretary of the Treasury discussing for a couple minutes ending the Fed entirely on tv. While likely not a serious consideration, it's never a bad thing to hear that abominable institution catching heat publicly.
They've simply failed their espoused mandate, and have destroyed the value of the dollar.
The alternative scenario, in which currency can't be printed out of thin air and is instead limited by a tie to hard money, seems quite a bit more enjoyable...
The Fed has an abysmal track record. As the best form of money ever created, Bitcoin is a game-changer.
Thanks for reading, my friends.
Life is getting busy, and the deluge of new developments in the space that we've seen over the past couple years appears to be slowing down, with the dominant narratives now revolving around government and large corporate adoption.
Going forward, I'll be writing these less regularly and less frequently - really only when EXTRA major news occurs.
I hope you have enjoyed reading Casual Bitcoiner, and if you miss reports from my monitoring of the situation, just reach out 😀
Happy Hodling!
✌️ Bill
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PS
If you haven't already, check out Swan's free Welcome to Bitcoin course. In one hour of high quality video content, Natalie Brunell covers the essentials of Bitcoin - the things you need to understand about its role in the world. You can enroll in the course at https://swan.com/welcome, or watch the first 15 minute video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZvhLDWjD_I&t=44s
Another great place to start is a 40 minute video called "What's the Problem", motivated by the notion that we can't understand the solution (ie Bitcoin) if we don't really understand the problem it solves. The video is on YouTube:
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Feeling a little more than casual? Want to dive in deeper?
Here is a list of resources to take the next step with your personal Bitcoin learning journey:
Books:
- The Genesis Book - Bitcoin didn’t come out of nowhere; intellectual movements in economics and cryptography converge after decades of development in each, the result being Bitcoin. This book details Bitcoin’s prehistory, and is my favorite Bitcoin book
- Inventing Bitcoin - a narrative, progressive approach to building Bitcoin as a superior money, one feature at time, to help the reader understand how features of Bitcoin solve problems of money. *FREE* ebook download
- Gradually Then Suddenly - a clear, logical walkthrough, understandable by beginners, of the case for Bitcoin as money - how the technology works conceptually, how and why it will win, and why this is good for the world
- The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation is the Key to an Abundant Future - not a book about Bitcoin per se, but this book and this author are some of the most popular in the space. The book explains the roles of technological advancement and inflation/deflation in creating scarcity/abundance in society
- The 7th Property: Bitcoin and the Monetary Revolution - takes an accessible, casual tone to the topics of monetary economics, the history of central banking in the West, and how Bitcoin works
- The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking - the most popular book in Bitcoin, this book takes a relatively academic lens to the same topics as the 7th Property, with a significantly lighter treatment of Bitcoin itself
- A Progressive's Case for Bitcoin: A Path Toward a More Just, Equitable, and Peaceful World - imo not necessarily the best book on the list, but a thorough exploration of the ways that, even apart from what economic theory tells us about sound money's contribution to societal prosperity, Bitcoin makes for a better world
- Check Your Financial Privilege: Inside the Global Bitcoin Revolution - a compilation of essays by Human Rights Foundation's Alex Gladstein about the role that Bitcoin will play in liberating a world where more than 50% of people live under tyrants.
Podcasts:
- What Bitcoin Did - The most popular show with the most popular guests, topics range from developments in Bitcoin, the Bitcoin community, macroeconomics, and politics
- Preston Pysh - Covers the same topics with similar guests as What Bitcoin Did, though a little more technically advanced
- High Hash Rate - Very casual conversations about Bitcoin and Bitcoiners, usually making interesting connections to other areas of life and society. The connection-making is likely facilitated by the fact that the hosts are often high for the show
- Swan Signal - Covers recent developments in Bitcoin, leaning more toward markets and price action
Youtube Channels:
- Bitcoiner University - 10 minute videos deep diving on specific topics in Bitcoin and in relevant current events
- BTC Sessions - Perhaps the most important resource on this list, BTC Sessions does video tutorials on how to use Bitcoin and different Bitcoin tools like hardware wallets, running a Bitcoin node, etc
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