The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking 1st Edition

The author spends nearly the first half of the book reviewing early units of account-currencies- throughout history and among different cultures and civilizations. He focuses on the gold standard as having been the one and only stable unit of account on which currencies should be based or backed and as a store of value. This lengthy introduction serves as an excellent Segway into making the point that bitcoin is the new gold. Even better than gold simply bc of its scarcity and transparency. Through the book, the author makes no secret of his distrust and even despise of economists like Kaynes, Fisher and Freedman. He goes as far as accusing them of not having proper grasp of economics. He even attacks academia for continuing to teach such outdated and even invalid economics concepts. The author keeps referring to the terms sound money and unsound money as references to good based currencies vs giver employment generated fiat currencies.Overall, an excellent read not just about bitcoin but rather about basic economics in general. Highly recommended.

Before reading The Bitcoin Standard, my understanding of money was pretty basic: you earn it, you spend it, and sometimes the number in your bank account goes up or down seemingly at random. Bitcoin? That was just that confusing internet money thing people argued about online.Saifedean Ammous didn't just explain Bitcoin; he took me on a journey through the history of money itself, from primitive seashells to gold standards to the current fiat system. And let me tell you, that journey is eye-opening. He makes a compelling case for why Bitcoin isn't just another digital fad, but a potential paradigm shift in how we think about value, scarcity, and freedom from centralized control.This book is incredibly well-researched and argued. Ammous has a knack for explaining complex economic concepts in a way that's both rigorous and surprisingly readable. It's not just for the crypto-bros; it's for anyone who's ever wondered why prices keep going up, or what gives money its value in the first place.Reading this book felt like getting a fundamental upgrade to my understanding of the world's financial plumbing. It challenged my assumptions and gave me a completely new perspective on economics and technology.If you want to move beyond the headlines and understand the fundamental principles behind Bitcoin and why it matters, The Bitcoin Standard is an essential read. It's insightful, thought-provoking, and might just change the way you view money forever. Highly, highly recommended!

Great for anyone interested in the past, present, and future of money.Highly recommended !

Well written, logical, readable prose. Excellent summary of what money is and what inflation really is. Clearly he’s explored his Ludwig Mises so he must know something. Problem is China has banned bitcoin. How can a digitial currency liberate a population when its own government makes it a capital crime to transact in it. The last thing we want is central banks adopting bitcoin, we want central banks to be abolishedIve read a great deal about bitcoin and im still not convinced that its anything other than a special digital tokien and purely speculative asset. There are ten thousand digital currencies out there now. At some point there will likly be a shakeout. Some shock will remove the US dollar as the worlds reserve currency . When that happens all the digi coins will prob end up worthless bc some political jurisdiction will tie its currency to good old GOLD again. Making bitcoin irrelevant. For all the excitement and bluster and “this time its different” talk, there are so many aspects to bitcoin that make it unsuited as an actual store of value. For one it has no value as a commodity . You cant fill teeth with bitcoin. You cant use bitcoin as an electrical conductor. Some say, well the distribution network has value. Yes thats possible. It just seems like the whole digital currency crazy is just another artifact of this absolutely insane inflationary environment we find ourselves in where people are convincing themselves that imaginary Digital tolkiens are actually money. Kind of like convincing yourself that a masks stops covid virus particles.

This book was very helpful to me and I highly recommend. Bitcoin is admittedly an extremely obscure and abstract concept, but once understood, is almost unfathomably enlightening. When one looks at the world around them and sees all the ills and craziness, it's often possible to trace the underlying issue back to a bad incentives created by bad money. This bad money regime is enabled by an ever-present, yet often unseen, handful of individuals who single-handedly possess the ability to take from some to give to others (often in the form of taking from those on the margin and giving to those whose needs are already met). This book is in laymen's terms and is suitable for most everyone, regardless of prior experience with finance, money or business. The book answers a question most have never thought to ponder, "What is money, exactly?". The book provides a great overview of the history of money, lays out the characteristics that make for both good and bad money and finishes with an overview of how Bitcoin was created as a potential solution to some of the negative aspects present in today's fiat money system. Lastly, the book concludes with a balanced pros/cons discussion and highlights potential scenarios that would lead to both Bitcoin working and not working. Though it sounds hyperbole, this book completely changed the way I view money, finance, business, free markets and the world as a whole. Bitcoin provides a plausible avenue to a better world. As the quip from the famous Charlie Munger ironically goes, "show me the incentive, I'll show you the outcome". Bitcoin represents a paradigm shift and realignment in the underlying incentive structure driving outcomes in the world we live in. Cheers and I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.