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
Inhaltsverzeichnis
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 É poque 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
