The Rise of Bitcoin
“The blockchain technology at bitcoin’s core provides a new and fundamentally different way to process payments. It relies on neither decentralized nor centralized clearing. Instead, it processes transactions over a distributed network. And, by solving the double spending problem without recourse to a trusted third party, it has the potential to offer a degree of financial privacy comparable to decentralized payment mechanisms like cash.” ~ William J. Luther
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Bitcoin and a Lesson in Electricity Markets
“We should indeed be skeptical of financial fads, of everything in the Everything Bubble. And we should argue over bitcoin’s many monetary attributes – mostly because we therefore highlight how other monetary regimes work. But the environmental accusations of Bitcoin’s mining operations is like hitting your head against brick walls – not a very useful thing to do. Like the great JP Koning concluded this week, ‘It’s not the energy needs of these products that is the problem.'” ~ Joakim Book
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The Blockchain and the Future of Everything
“The current apparatus of centralized data processing and storage is not only incapable of adequately handling the prerequisite needs of this digital society, but it might also turn it into a dystopia. What we need is a highly decentralized and efficient infrastructure that is impervious to manipulation. Blockchain technology seems to be the essential component to make the digitized society of the future a foundation for empowerment and growth rather than an Orwellian nightmare.” ~ Ethan Yang
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Why Do Cryptocurrencies Use So Much Energy?
“Critics are upset about the energy consumption of cryptocurrencies. But it’s not the energy needs of these products that is the problem. Let niche communities enjoy their strange energy-intensive activities. Rather, what is disturbing is that most consumers of cryptocurrencies don’t perceive the true cost of the services they are using. And so these very, very expensive products have, by accident, gone mainstream.” ~ J.P. Koning
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YouTube Censors Florida Governor DeSantis and His Science Advisors
“The pulling of the roundtable video comes a day after the total humiliation of 60 Minutes in many stories that defended the governor. Its deletion of the most viewed version online denies viewers the opportunity to observe DeSantis’s impressive knowledge on the subject of the coronavirus and the public policy response.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker
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The Promise of Cryptocurrencies
“Cryptocurrencies have the potential to improve upon both commodity and fiat monies. If designed properly, a cryptocurrency would anchor long-run expectations and provide timely supply adjustments at a lower cost than commodity and fiat monies.” ~ William J. Luther
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China’s Digital Currency Has Nothing to do with Bitcoin
“Governments who attempt to create their own crypto now are merely seeking to bathe in the warmth of one of our epoch’s greatest creations even while they eschew everything that made Bitcoin and other tokens so wonderful. The market itself is now in a position to decide. In the long term, the market will choose its friends over its enemies.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker & Peter C. Earle
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India’s Impending War on Crypto
“Indian citizens have embraced cryptocurrencies in astonishing numbers, and despite the government’s best efforts to suppress the crypto economy, history would indicate that it’s a futile endeavor. By trying to ban them, the case for cryptocurrencies is made all the more clear, propelling their use and further innovation. The cryptocat is out, irrevocably so, of the bag.” ~ Peter C. Earle
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Bitcoin Bros Rediscovering Our Monetary Past
“For all the revolutionary creed that surrounds the emerging monetary commodity that is bitcoin, it seems that its future more and more resembles the past it tried to escape. Happy times for us monetary nerds.” ~ Joakim Book
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Bitcoin Continues Steady Mainstream Adoption
“At the moment, the idea of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is still emerging technology but at one point they were considered fringe. Their increasing adoption not only lends support for the ongoing rise of Bitcoin’s value but demonstrates an interesting inflection point for financial affairs.” ~ Ethan Yang
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Mastercard’s Crypto Ruse
“With more corporate powerhouses supporting cryptocurrencies by the month, it appears that crypto is here to stay. Whether those cryptos are the ones currently popular or this announcement by Mastercard acts to initiate a path dependent development process is presently unknown and unknowable. Other recent initiatives by the massive processing firm suggest a focus that may thwart, rather than promote, the expansion of genuine, public cryptocurrency use.” ~ Peter C. Earle
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Escape Hatches: Migration, Bitcoin, and the Ability to Get Out
“Keep more mobile assets; have larger buffers, financial and physical; instead of a large house in a nice suburb, perhaps aim for a smaller home coupled with a condo or house in a different jurisdiction? Don’t put all your financial eggs in one portfolio – keep some gold and some bitcoin; keep healthy; update your survivability skills. Ensure that your escape hatches remain open.” ~ Joakim Book
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