WebAmerican Economist and Director of the Cato Institute, George Selgin, joins me for a conversation about his book, Money: Free and Unfree. In The Bitcoin Standard, Saifedean looks back to the nineteenth and early twentieth century as a period of technological innovation by entrepreneurs under the gold standard, bringing us indoor plumbing, electricity, the internal combustion engine, airplanes and elevators, among many more. Ammous has shared various pictures of his wife on Instagram but has not mentioned her exact name. The sequel to The Bitcoin Standard, applying its framework to analyzing the current monetary system. Would you talk a little bit about that and maybe a new way of approaching it once our eyes are opened to the fact that debt is such a crucial part of our economy? Then, the British government had a problem because how were they going to finance the war when people dont want to buy the bonds. Also, he has not announced anything about their children. You see it in architecture, we build buildings that fall apart in 30 years whereas, in the 19th century, they built buildings that last 300 years. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. They used to eat more meat back in the 19th century, and meat is the most nutritious thing that you could eat. He and his family relocated to Lebanon when he was an adolescent. We have a time preference because we are mortal, lowering ones time preference means thinking longer term (Valuing the future over the present). He claims schools are broken because they have an infinite supply of fiat money at their disposal and teachers on fiat salaries destroy education; higher education and scientific research are broken because they rely on an endless supply of government grants, enabled by fiat money, which results in botched research. Trump's Economy: Boom Times or Dangerous Bubble? WebPrime Meridian Capital executive team members Don Davis (CEO) and Sean Bill (CIO) discuss the success of the firm's multiple credits funds amid difficult market conditions. Interested. Saifedean Ammouss age has not been disclosed on any social media platform, so his age remains a mystery. Dr. Ammous holds a PhD in Sustainable Development from Columbia University, where his doctoral thesis studied the economics of biofuels and alternative energy sources. But it is looking at it from the lens of somebody who has moved on to Bitcoin using the analytic lens of Bitcoin and how Bitcoin works, applying the same framework for understanding the Fiat system and how the Fiat systems works. But his followers are always curious about his personal life. Saifedean teaches outside of mainstream academia Here is why: Its demoralizing to realize you could have spent your time producing stuff that people value and pay for, Being out in the market, getting feedback from consumers, is at the heart of entrepreneurship Academia deprives you of that, The Internet allows you to learn things directly from anywhere, people will find ways to explore these efficiencies, Ultimately, education is not about grades or certificates, education is about learning things that are useful , Saifedean is working on a new Austrian Economics textbook: Principles of Economics, The goal is making the work of Austrian economists like. You are making trade-offs with your future self, Be conscious of this, it helps you make better decisions, you start considering the consequences in the short-run and the long-run. The Bitcoin Standard Podcast is the place to discuss Bitcoin and economics from the Austrian schools perspective. Dr. Saifedean is known for his engaging approach to educating, with an aim to enlighten students and listeners to the truth about money, value, and its direct correlation I have to say, one of the disheartening learnings in your book for me, because Im not an economist, I was unaware of the reality of the Fiat system really just being built on debt but it explains a lot and so I am going to quote you here and then Ill have you expand on this a little bit. But if everybody switches from eating real food to eating inferior foods, then prices arent going up all that much. And where is the compelling evidence for it that validates Saifedeans harsh words? When you cant save, then you cannot provide for your future so you tend to live day-to-day and moment-to-moment. His WebIt is also worth remembering, no-coiners cannot all be Michael Saylors, and are not all lucky enough to have close personal friends (thanks Eric Weiss) willing to take the time to clearly explain the concept to us, or the personal motivation to spend thousands of hours educating ourselves. If you cant make payments for a couple of months then you get wiped out, you lose your business or you lose your house. Saifedean Ammous: This is really, I think, the powerful realization that allowed me to understand how this monetary system works after studying it for quite a while, which is that by analogizing it to Bitcoin or gold, you know with gold and Bitcoin, there is a mining process where new Bitcoins are produced according to a schedule or with gold, people dig and they find gold and they put it on the market but with Fiat, theres no mining. Outlining the Fiat Standards purposes and failures, deriving the wider economic political, and social implications of its use, and examining how Bitcoin will affect it over time. As of 2022, Saifedean Ammous has an estimated net worth of $2 million. This is kind of the big misconception that people have today that the Great Depression happened because of the gold standard. WebNatalie Brunell talks with leading Bitcoin proponent Dr. Saifedean Ammous. Saifedean Ammous: Yeah, I think one of my favorite topics is food and I think in the 20th century, weve moved toward eating all of these substances that we think of as food and that are promoted by food, and that governments have subsidized and promoted heavily and told us to eat, but really, theyre not really healthy foods. He explains very clearly why Bitcoin may become the world's standard of value and settlement creating a more prosperous and equitable world. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Before deciding whether to invest in bitcoin, you should do your own extensive research into the financial and technical aspects involved. We went from a 2% increase per year to about a 14% increase per year in the supply of the money that we have. From money that is hard to move around to a money that is very quick in moving around, so I think its absolutely fascinating to witness this and Bitcoins continued rise, you know, its price just keeps going up over time, suggests that, in my opinion, this is a superior technology that is replacing an inferior technology. This is basically the old human industry. Why waste money on something you can learn about openly on the internet? Archived. Reading Ammous one can imagine why Bitcoin succeeding my be the biggest leap civilization has ever taken in the democratization of money. BlockBurn @agoldenliger 5 months ago @QuestioningBTC @schulzzy #Bitcoin doesnt discriminate. Because then you can just get to work on yourself, and yourself is one thing you CAN change, you can control at least, Saifedean adds: Its much better than demanding things from others or placing blame on others. You do a great job throughout the book of highlighting so many different ways that ityou talk about schools and universities, you talk about diet. he's trying to appeal to authority. Benji Block: Wow. This website is intended to showcase Dr. Ammous research in studying the economics of bitcoin, and nothing in it should be construed as investment advice. Then hard money is the dollar or the Euro, which the local central bank cannot print. A Critique of Saifedean Ammous The Bitcoin Standard. The Gold Standard 320. Its incredible. As you have access to hard money, you are able to plan better for the future. 0 3. He creates new knowledge thats valued by his customers, because it helps them to think betterand better informs their actions. He believes that the emerging Bitcoin Standard era will precipitate a new entrepreneurial flourishing, further accelerated by free software, network access, blockchain and hard money savings. How do you see Bitcoin scaling into the future as you just look maybe in the next five to ten years and any fears around that, as far as like government stepping in or anything there? Debate with Saifedean Ammous, Steve Hanke, and Hong Fang . Further, everyone, according to Saif, is on the Federal Reserves payroll, or is somehow a beneficiary of its infinite credit line. Even the International Monetary Fund is not safe, which seems strange given that it runs its own unit-of-account currency (Special Drawing Rights).*. Importantly, that money does not accrue to the government: While its misleading to say that the Feds open-market purchases finance the governments spending outright, the Fed is adding buying pressure to the bond market that does. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking at the best online prices at eBay! With Bitcoin, you can be your own bank. When you read the economic textbooks today, this is presented as if it was a better engineering design that somebody figured out, Hey, we dont need to have gold there if we just have government credit function as money, then we can have faster, better, easier payments or whatever. Ammous specifically cited how fiat inflation is used primarily for the needs of the government, saying that The cost of fiat is currently 3.5% of all global wealth, and is Genuinely think Blockchain is going to change the world. To say that fiat printing is the reason the government spends so much misses the taxation elephant in the room. So, prices had practically doubled by the end of World War I, which was a massive problem for the British economy and that inflation, that price inflation, that happened was a big problem for Britain after the war because Britain wanted to go back on the gold standard, but they couldnt go back from the old exchange rate. 304. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking at the best online prices at eBay! There is liberation in understanding that you are your own worst enemy and your own worst ally How so? Though he has three books, only The Bitcoin Standard is for sale publicly. What makes it tick and whats some of the history there? Should the Fed, as one of the largest buyers on the secondary bond market, suddenly disappear, the effect would be market rates on US Treasuries rising. Ammous touches on the far-reaching implications of various monetary systems and singles out the paradoxes of Keynesianism for an intense critique. 10. This is where my attempt to study this as an engineer have given me some appreciation of this kind of system, which I didnt really have when I wrote The Bitcoin Standard. Think about it globally. The Bitcoin Standard was published in 2018, and it was known as groundbreaking research on the history of economics and Bitcoin. It doesnt need central banks in order for it to travel. Suggestions are welcome via an issue or PR on GitHub. " A really really good book. Over $100 billion in direct funding is not nothing, obviously, but its far from the free-for-all money spree that Fed critics like Saif sometimes imagine. Ammous is a brilliant and concise teacher of Austrian school economics, and I cannot recommend his courses highly enough. In 2017 and 2019, The Bank of England released some information that had been hiding in their basements for about a century. So, government money can travel much faster than gold because it has the license of government. Specifically, everything wrong in American life stems from the money-printing that is under the governments control. Economist Saifedean Ammous, author of the hotly debated 'The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking,' joins Real Vision for an in-depth analysis of both gold & bitcoin, drawing on his extensive knowledge as a professor of Austrian economics. Thats what allows us to save for the future. You know, gold doesnt keep up with inflation. You can find Hunters writings on entrepreneurship at hunterhastings.com. WebJust dumped half of my entire net worth into Bitcoin after researching the technology. He wrote two other books titled The Fiat Standard and Principles of Economics. Golds value doesnt rise as much as the inflation. Two very interesting sets of historical documents that explain what was going on in the period of World War I when The Bank of England effectively went off the gold standard even though this isnt really. It is essential reading for anyone interested in learning the role Bitcoin could play in a future regime of free and sound money. Saifedean Ammous is author of the seminal book,The Bitcoin Standard, which has been translated into dozen of languages. He is a bestselling author, cryptocurrency advocate, professor and podcaster. Join as member+ and also attend Ammous holds a Ph.D. in Sustainable Development from Columbia University. When I heard Saifedean was preparing a book about bitcoin I had high hopes. It is very reckless and this is why, I think, the second part of my book is just discussing the social and broader societal implications of this. Adam Mastroianni discusses why peer review, the greatest scientific experiment in history, has failed and why that is a great Johnathan Bi and Russ Roberts discuss Mimetic Theory, Rene Girard, physical desires vs metaphysical desires, authenticity, positive vs C Stanley Druckenmiller is an American investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. Benji Block: I love that your curiosity led you to continue down that path because for many, when something doesnt make sense, they stop there. Saifedean Ammous, the author of The Bitcoin Standard, is also the founder and CEO of https://saifedean.com/. The book is being peer reviewed while in writing here is how: The draft is posted online while its progressing, people can see it and provide feedback as it goes along, The benefit is changes and modifying structure dont require much editing compared to if it was done after completing the draft, The Internet obsoletes the traditional writing process of writing then sending drafts and getting feedback, If Saifedean was to pick one person to spread the message of bitcoin to their audience, it would be Lionel Messi (because of his popularity), But he encourages fans of Ronaldo and Messi to send them copies of his book, Daniel jokes: Maybe they will shill something of more worth than hair gel. Academic Vice President & Editor, Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics Mises Institute, Chairman and Founder, 13D Global Strategy & Research, Chief Executive Officer at S&P Dow Jones Indices, Contains spam, fake content or potential malware. Finally, he targets the development industry, which he claims is filled with miseducated economists with degrees from what he describes as Keynesian and socialist fiat universities. Going further, he claims these economists have access to a line of credit from the Federal Reserve [which] grants them immunity from market failure.. Saifedean Ammous: I used to be a university professor in economics and then I wrote a book about Bitcoin. He teaches economics and hosts a podcast through his website, saifedean.com. Ask yourself, are you delaying your long-term goals because you are busy with day to day activities rather than investing in things that matter to you in the long run? Joakim Book is a writer, researcher and editor on all things money, finance and financial history. If we wish to know more about his career and work, we can go through his site, https://saifedean.com/. Lowering ones time preference means thinking longer term (Valuing the future over the present), Whats the lowest time preference act you can do? Indeed, Saifedean has added an enormous fortune to his account with his multiple works. We'd love for you When people think about when the world went off the gold standard, they think 1971 but in reality, it was 1914. Furthermore, he was born in Palestine and grew up in the city of Ramallah. Then, once you start becoming more familiar with it, you start understanding why its not very popular because it kind of flows against the conclusions of the idea the entire idea that you need to have a monopoly central bank managing the currency, that you need to have a government institution, that is in charge of the money supply that is in charge of the banking system; that all of these things need to be regulated with a monopoly entity. Break that down for me a little bit and how it kind of disrupts the natural order. Hunter Hastings is a member of the Mises Institute, Business Consultant, and co-chair of the Hunter Hastings outlines how technology can help empower entrepreneurship and usher in a new age of individualism El emprendimiento y la innovacin son las claves del crecimiento econmico y de la mejora del nivel de vida. Benji Block: Rewind for me for a second; what originally got you interested and intrigued about economics as a whole? It was critically acclaimed, gaining positive reviews from the likes of Michael Saylor and Russell Okung. They kept kicking the can down the road and trying to prevent people from redeeming their gold and eventually, they gave up on the gold standard in 1931, and this is the kind of perverse part here, which is they blamed the gold standard for their failures for all of the economic problems that were caused by abandoning the gold standard. This is a key analytical point or the key analytical focus of The Bitcoin Standard is to argue that money is inevitably going to be whatever is the hardest to produce. Saifedean Ammous Wikipedia. In 2016, he was chosen to be visiting scholar at Columbia University again. Saifedean Ammous: Thank you very much for having me, its a pleasure. If a doctor is a vegan, which do they tell you about first? Monetary economists and historians sometimes speak of Seigniorage, the spread between the cost of producing new money and the purchasing power that the money has. WebBitcoin was created to be a store of value (yes, perceived value, just like fiat, gold, etc., yet as long as it has perceived value then it is worth having). Save that money and buy more bitcoin. The monetary authority may decide the base money supply, but the public decides its real value. Our friend Saifedean Ammous joins Jeff and Bob Murphy for a demolition of the pseudo-economics behind Green energy Tu ne cede malis,sed contra audentior ito, Website powered by Mises Institute donors, Mises Institute is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. In fact, if you look at the 19th century, the average American used to eat something like two or three times as much meat as they do right now. I wonder if there would be maybe one more youd want to highlight before wed start to wrap up here. WebThere is still gold but most peoples net worth is still in local currency. In the sense of salability across space, being able to move money across space, Fiat is better than gold and thats what has allowed it to survive for a hundred years even though its much more inflationary than gold. I'm considering going back to University for a year to do a masters/thesis in cryptocurrency and the role it has to play in our future, or studying the online literature that's available now, Dumped half of my net worth into it too. Ammous teaches economics to thousands of students worldwide on his online learning platform Saifedean.com, and hosts The Bitcoin Standard Podcast. #sustainability WebThe 20th century saw economic booms and shocks that caused governments worldwide to develop new systems for managing systemic risk while encouraging growth of the private sector.