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Nassim Taleb’s Bitcoin Black Paper with Lyn Alden

Peter McCormack

Interview | Description | Timestamps | Show Notes

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Nassim Taleb’s Bitcoin Black Paper with Lyn Alden - WBD378 Peter McCormack

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Location: Remotely
Date: Tuesday 27th July
Project: lynalden.com
Role: Macroeconomist

Nassim Taleb is a well-regarded author and statistician and one-time bitcoin bull who has since turned critic, claiming that it "can be neither a long or short term store of value" and that "its expected value is no higher than 0."

Taleb recently wrote a black paper criticising bitcoin's ability to function as a store of value, questioning its ability to protect against oppressive governments and claiming bitcoins distribution is unfair. 

Several key points in the paper were without merit, and it led to bitcoiners questioning whether the article is Taleb being intellectually dishonest or ignorant.

In this interview, I talk to Lyn Alden, a macroeconomist and investment strategist. We break down Nassim Taleb's "Bitcoin Black Paper" and discuss his misconceptions and whether it offers any valid criticisms.

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00:04:10: Introductions
00:04:43: Initial impressions of the black paper
00:06:41: The lack of talk about Lightning in the paper
00:11:44: Bitcoin's energy usage
00:16:48: Comprehending the maths
00:18:09: Comment 1: Why Bitcoin is worth exactly zero
00:28:10: Monetary goods versus assets and their utilities
00:34:46: Bitcoin's technology uses
00:37:57: If miners were to become extinct
00:47:46: Volatility and network effects
00:52:28: Comment 2: Success as a digital currency
00:56:21: Bitcoin and the Lightning Network as a medium of exchange
01:03:48: Unit of account
01:09:12: Comment 3: Payment system
01:12:16: Store of value
01:14:04: Inflation hedge
01:18:43: Comment 4: "Law vs regulations vs rules"
01:19:24: Privacy and Human Rights
01:24:40: Fairness of distribution
01:30:07: Peter's and Lyn's conclusions
01:35:32: Final comments

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