The Future of Currency: From the Gold Standard to Blockchain
Recommended for those investing in crypto or anyone interested in the crypto space!
This book was published in 2018 and can be seen as a "testament" to Bitcoin, but about 60% of it discusses currency itself, also covering Hayek and Keynes.
The most important takeaway for me was the distinction between soft currencies and hard currencies (all soft currencies are just passing through, hoarding hard currencies is the core goal).
In terms familiar to us, this means: all altcoins aim to swap your Bitcoin out of your hands.
A key indicator mentioned in the book is the stock-to-flow ratio (only if this ratio is sufficiently high is it worth holding long-term).
Similarly, this ratio almost perfectly predicted one of the most criticized issues in the last round of altcoins: high market cap, low circulation, and ongoing inflation.
Had I read this book back then, it likely would have helped me avoid traps like ARB and other high market cap, low circulation tokens.
Besides the concept of hard currency, the book also accurately forecasted several development directions for Bitcoin post-2018.
For example:
1/ Bitcoin's L2;
2/ Collateralizing Bitcoin to issue other tokens (stablecoins/lending);
3/ Central banks purchasing Bitcoin as reserves.
The book also logically explains what Bitcoin can and cannot do.
For instance:
1/ It cannot be popularized as a payment network (due to block capacity limits and node operation costs), but will be popularized as a settlement network (off-chain calculations, on-chain settlements).
2/ Bitcoin's anonymity is actually pseudo-anonymity; each transaction can be traced back to specific individuals. To some extent, this reflects the existence of privacy lanes and mixing demand, which can be thought of in light of the recent surge in privacy projects since the second half of last year.
This book shattered some of my misconceptions about Bitcoin and taught me a lot about investment philosophies.
If I had seriously read it before the bear market in '22, I probably wouldn't have experienced a significant drawdown.
Since I lack an economics background, the first 60% was a bit of a slog, but it was definitely worth it!
Recommended for those investing in crypto or anyone interested in the crypto space!
This book was published in 2018 and can be seen as a "testament" to Bitcoin, but about 60% of it discusses currency itself, also covering Hayek and Keynes.
The most important takeaway for me was the distinction between soft currencies and hard currencies (all soft currencies are just passing through, hoarding hard currencies is the core goal).
In terms familiar to us, this means: all altcoins aim to swap your Bitcoin out of your hands.
A key indicator mentioned in the book is the stock-to-flow ratio (only if this ratio is sufficiently high is it worth holding long-term).
Similarly, this ratio almost perfectly predicted one of the most criticized issues in the last round of altcoins: high market cap, low circulation, and ongoing inflation.
Had I read this book back then, it likely would have helped me avoid traps like ARB and other high market cap, low circulation tokens.
Besides the concept of hard currency, the book also accurately forecasted several development directions for Bitcoin post-2018.
For example:
1/ Bitcoin's L2;
2/ Collateralizing Bitcoin to issue other tokens (stablecoins/lending);
3/ Central banks purchasing Bitcoin as reserves.
The book also logically explains what Bitcoin can and cannot do.
For instance:
1/ It cannot be popularized as a payment network (due to block capacity limits and node operation costs), but will be popularized as a settlement network (off-chain calculations, on-chain settlements).
2/ Bitcoin's anonymity is actually pseudo-anonymity; each transaction can be traced back to specific individuals. To some extent, this reflects the existence of privacy lanes and mixing demand, which can be thought of in light of the recent surge in privacy projects since the second half of last year.
This book shattered some of my misconceptions about Bitcoin and taught me a lot about investment philosophies.
If I had seriously read it before the bear market in '22, I probably wouldn't have experienced a significant drawdown.
Since I lack an economics background, the first 60% was a bit of a slog, but it was definitely worth it!