Will Bitcoin End Central Banking? with Eric Yakes

 
 

Where to find the show

Download Episode MP3 File
The file will open in a new window. Click down arrow to download the file.

“Now that we’ve got a technology that actually is not only immutable, but it’s better in terms of every other category for money; it’s a true innovation and the strongest sense of the word we can prioritise that as something that we should value as part of money now and we can say: ‘okay, we don’t even need this trade-off anymore,’ we’ve literally just innovated that away.”
— Eric Yakes

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Location: Los Angeles
Date: Wednesday 2nd February
Company: Independent
Role: Author

The Bitcoin rabbit hole is a confusing, perplexing, and thoroughly exhilarating experience. It involves the dissolving of previous certainties and the discovery of a labyrinthine mass of revolutionary knowledge. It is a life-changing experience.

This journey necessitates one to consider profound and fundamental concepts that society has almost uniformly forgotten to question: what is the purpose of money, what is the best money, who decides this for us, what is money backed by? The process is like an awakening from a long and childish dream. The result is a realisation that the status quo should and can be changed.

Bitcoin is now ubiquitous; it is easy to forget that it is a nascent and rapidly evolving technology. Despite there being a growing library of valuable information by an illustrious collection of authors, those new to the subject often feel swamped. Particularly as there are factions within the community with sometimes conflicting views and opinions.

That is why it is valuable to have material written by people who have been on that journey of discovery, those who have had to unravel the twisted knot of diverse subjects that underpin Bitcoin: computer science, cryptography, economics, finance, banking, philosophy, civics, geopolitics, law. And perhaps most vitally, those able to provide a neutral position on Bitcoin.

In this interview, I talk to Eric Yakes, author of The 7th Property. We discuss the genesis of the book, the Federal Reserve, the role of libertarianism in our future, and the foundational and unique strengths of Bitcoin.

TIMESTAMPS

00:03:54: Introductions
00:04:29: Eric's background
00:10:35: Going down the Bitcoin rabbit hole
00:13:24: Bitcoin vs altcoins
00:21:20: Python and finite field cryptography
00:26:24: The complexities of inflation
00:30:38: Writing the book
00:34:33: Central banks and the creation of the Federal Reserve
00:43:59: The US trade deficit and the Triffin dilemma
00:46:58: The international battle for monetary dominance
00:50:29: Decline in global dollar transactions
01:00:19: How countries could operate without a central bank
01:03:45: The end of central banking?
01:08:16: Why Bitcoin can't fail
01:12:03: Anarchism, libertarianism and democracy
01:19:12: Seasteading
01:27:56: The 7th Property
01:35:48: Clarity on Twitter
01:42:50: Final comments

 

SUPPORT THE SHOW

If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:

If you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

SPONSORS

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

SHOW NOTES

Connect with Eric:

Mentioned in the interview:

Other Relevant WBD Podcasts:

PodcastPeter McCormack