The Bitcoin Standard

Autorentext

SAIFEDEAN AMMOUS, PHD, is a Professor of Economics at the Lebanese American University, and member of the Center on Capitalism and Society at Columbia University.

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**THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO BITCOIN'S HISTORY, PROPERTIES, USES, AND FUTURE

*In *The Bitcoin Standard, economist Saifedean Ammous walks readers through the fascinating history of the technologies of money and explores what gave these technologies their monetary role, how they lost it, what that teaches us about the desirable features of money, and how Bitcoin is designed to improve on these technologies. Ammous elucidates the economic, social, cultural, and political benefits of sound money over unsound money to allow for an informed discussion of the potential role Bitcoin could play in the digital economy of the future. Rather than as a currency for criminals or a cheap mass consumer payment network, this book argues Bitcoin is emerging as a decentralized, politically neutral, free-market alternative to national central banks, with potentially enormous implications for individual freedom and prosperity. For anyone looking for a clear understanding of this new digital money, The Bitcoin Standard is the essential resource.

"The Bitcoin Standard should be required reading for everyone in modern society. It offers a concise and coherent narrative of monetary theory, the history of money, practical economics, and the impact of political policy on business, culture, and the economy. The book contains perhaps one of the best articulations of the virtues of strong money and the dangers of weak currency yet presented in modern literature. The Bitcoing Standard also masterfully debunks the myths of modern monetary theory and the broken ideas that have dominated the fiat economic school of thought since the early 20th century."
-From the Foreword by Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy

"I have spent my entire career studying works about monetary theory, the gold standard, comparative monetary systems, central banks, and proposals for monetary and financial reform. I would rate a tiny fraction of the books I have read about any of these topics as excellent. Dr. Ammous' book, The Bitcoin Standard, contains an excellent treatment of these topics in addtion to one of the few enlightened and enlightening accounts of bitcoin that I have come across. It is essential reading for anyone interested in learning the role bitcoin could play in a future regime of free and sound money."
-Dr. Joseph T. Salerno, Academic Vice President of the Mises Institute & Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics

Inhalt

About the Author xi

Foreword xiii

Prologue xv

Chapter 1 Money 1

Chapter 2 Primitive Moneys 11

Chapter 3 Monetary Metals 17

Why Gold? 19

Roman Golden Age and Decline 25

Byzantium and the Bezant 28

The Renaissance 29

La Belle Époque 34

Chapter 4 Government Money 41

Monetary Nationalism and the End of the Free World 43

The Interwar Era 47

World War II and Bretton Woods 53

Government Money's Track Record 60

Chapter 5 Money and Time Preference 73

Monetary Inflation 81

Saving and Capital Accumulation 90

Innovations: "Zero to One" versus "One to Many" 96

Artistic Flourishing 98

Chapter 6 Capitalism's Information System 105

Capital Market Socialism 109

Business Cycles and Financial Crises 113

Sound Basis for Trade 126

Chapter 7 Sound Money and Individual Freedom 135

Should Government Manage the Money Supply? 136

Unsound Money and Perpetual War 145

Limited versus Omnipotent Government 149

The Bezzle 155

Chapter 8 Digital Money 167

Bitcoin as Digital Cash 168

Supply, Value, and Transactions 177

Appendix to Chapter 8 191

Chapter 9 What Is Bitcoin Good For? 193

Store of Value 193

Individual Sovereignty 200

International and Online Settlement 205

Global Unit of Account 212

Chapter 10 Bitcoin Questions 217

Is Bitcoin Mining a Waste? 217

Out of Control: Why Nobody Can Change Bitcoin 222

Antifragility 230

Can Bitcoin Scale? 232

Is Bitcoin for Criminals? 238

How to Kill Bitcoin: A Beginners' Guide 241

Altcoins 251

Blockchain Technology 257

Acknowledgements 273

Bibliography 275

List of Figures 282

List of Tables 284

Index 285