The World's Best Book Summaries
How does inflation influence the value of bitcoin? Why is bitcoin not affected by inflation? Bitcoin is a very “hard” currency and thus does not lose value due to inflation. According to economist Saifedean Ammous, the “hardness” of money is one of the most important factors determining how good a type of money is. Here’s why the price of bitcoin isn’t affected by inflation.
Will bitcoin ever become the worldwide standard of value exchange? How close are we to bitcoin adoption? At present, bitcoin is a long way from being accepted as an international form of money the way gold was universally accepted as money in the 19th century. Furthermore, bitcoin may never replace money, but it has some characteristics that make it—at least potentially—a better alternative to fiat. Here’s what economist Saifedean Ammous has to say about adopting bitcoin.
Does bitcoin have the potential to become the new monetary standard? What are the benefits of bitcoin over fiat? According to economist Saifedean Ammous, there are two properties that determine how suitable something is for use as money: ‘salability’ and ‘hardness,’ and bitcoin has both of them. Then there’s the issue of trust in the payer: The form of money can influence the likelihood of a transaction failing due to nonpayment. We’ll discuss each of these factors, in turn, to show why Ammous thinks bitcoin makes good money.
What is Saifedean Ammous’s The Bitcoin Standard about? What is the key message to take away from the book? In The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking, Saifedean Ammous suggests that bitcoin has the potential to become a new monetary standard. To make this argument, he explains the problems fiat money creates, and how bitcoin can solve these problems. Below is a brief overview of the book.
What exactly is fiat currency? Where do fiat currencies derive their value? The fiat currency derives its value solely from government decree, like U.S. dollars, British Pounds, or most other national currencies in use today. Fiat currencies have no intrinsic value because they are not backed by any commodity (e.g. gold or silver). Saifedean Ammous discusses the social and economic problems with the fiat money system and how bitcoin could solve those problems.
What will be the future of globalization? Is it coming to an end or simply taking on a new form? Some say that globalization is ending and that you only have to compare current economic and political conditions to those of the past to see the writing on the wall. Others argue that globalization is simply shape-shifting and that ideas and technology are driving its future form. Read on to learn more about the debate over the future of globalization.
Is bitcoin a good substitute for fiat money? What are some bitcoin characteristics that make it superior to fiat money? In his book The Bitcoin Standard, economics professor Saifedean Ammous suggests that bitcoin has the necessary characteristics to become the global monetary standard. Specifically, bitcoin has what Ammous calls good “salability”—that is, the ability to transmit value. Let’s examine bitcoin’s salability across three dimensions: scale, space, and time.
What’s the problem with fiat currency? What are the dangers of over-printing fiat money? One danger of fiat money is that it gives the government too much control of the nation’s resources. The government can just print more money whenever they want, which devalues the national currency. Dr. Saifedean Ammous explains the social problems with fiat currency.
How trustless is bitcoin, really? How are trustless transactions executed on the bitcoin network? The bitcoin network is designed in such a way that it makes it possible to complete financial transactions without the need for trust. The payee can’t default on the payment because the transaction is verified by the whole network—a large number of independently-operated servers all over the world. Here’s how bitcoin makes trustless transactions possible.
Why are tech companies laying off employees? Which tech companies are having layoffs? How do economists explain this issue? November alone has seen tens of thousands of tech company layoffs, many from large companies like Meta, Twitter, and Amazon. Experts believe that these layoffs are being driven, in large part, by the end of the Covid-19 pandemic and economic uncertainty in the near future. Read on to learn why economists say tech company layoffs aren’t a major concern for the future.