Alex Gladstein joins me for a deep-dive into the petrodollar system and its many hidden costs.
Be sure to check out NYDIG, one of the most important companies in Bitcoin: https://nydig.com/
GUEST
Alex’s twitter: https://twitter.com/gladstein
Human Rights Foundation: https://hrf.org/PODCAST
Podcast Website: https://whatismoneypodcast.com/
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Transcript:OUTLINE
00:00:00 “What is Money?”
Intro 00:00:08
The Dollar’s Pursuit to Peg Itself to Energy
00:06:14 Gold: The Base-Layer of Human Action Historically
00:10:29 The Cost of War and the Suppression of the Gold Price
00:24:47 Gresham’s Law
00:34:17 Gold’s Shortcomings
00:39:24 The Dollar in Search of a New Anchor & The Rise of OPEC
00:48:14 Cementing the Power of the Dollar Abroad
00:52:32 The Dark-Side of Imperialism & The T-Bill Standard
01:01:28 Exacerbation of Wealth Disparity
01:04:35 Fueling War
01:10:21 Oil-Denominated Currency War
01:16:54 Follow the Money!
01:18:30 NYDIG
01:19:37 Flawed Incentives and Rent-Seeking Behavior
01:29:10 Raw Material Surplus and Inflating Food Prices by Design?
01:34:34 Peace Theory and Satoshi’s Appreciation for Gold
01:42:20 Bitcoin: The Most Expensive Property to Violate
01:47:22 Bitcoin Price Manipulation and Suppression?
01:52:40 Theirs’ Law: Bitcoin Driving out the Bad Money
02:00:07 Bullish on America, the Navajo, El Salvador, and Nigeria
SOCIAL
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Number go up: Bitcoin is a Trojan Horse | Alex Gladstein and Lex Fridman
Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSbMU…
Bitcoin vs. the Petrodollar: Which Is More Environmentally Friendly? – Ep.238
Last week, Tesla announced they will no longer accept Bitcoin as payment for vehicles. In a timely episode, Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation, and James McGinniss, CEO and co-founder of David Energy, come onto the show to discuss Bitcoin, the petrodollar, and how to contextualize the energy usage of the first cryptocurrency (BTC) versus the leading fiat currency (USD). Show highlights:
● their backgrounds and how they became interested in the intersection of currency and energy usage
● why Alex and James really think Tesla stopped accepting BTC as payment
● why James thinks Bitcoin’s energy intensity is a “feature, not a bug”
● Alex on the history of the petrodollar and how the USD in recent decades has been tied to fossil fuel production
● comparing the carbon cost of a dollar to Bitcoin’s energy consumption
● what both James and Alex think of the Square and Ark Invest research paper saying renewable energy production could be tied with Bitcoin mining
● why measuring Bitcoin’s energy usage is difficult
● how Bitcoin mining in China is changing for the better
● how the Biden administration might impact Bitcoin
● where to find more information on Bitcoin and energy consumptionThank you to our sponsors!
E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit
Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchai…
Kyber Network: Dmm.exchangeEpisode Links
People:
Alex Gladstein
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gladstein
Human Rights Foundation: https://hrf.org/
James McGinniss
Twitter: https://twitter.com/James_McGinniss
David Energy: https://www.davidenergy.com/Recommended Reads:
“Uncovering the Hidden Cost of the Petrodollar” by Alex Gladstein
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/t…
“Think BTC is a Dirty Business? Consider the Carbon Cost of a Dollar” by Susan Su
https://susanfsu.medium.com/think-btc…
“Bitcoin is Key to an Abundant, Clean Energy Future” by Square and Ark Invest
https://assets.ctfassets.net/2d5q1td6…
Elisabeth Steyn thread on Tesla and energy credits
https://twitter.com/Elisabeth_Steyn/s…
“Tesla seeks entry into U.S. renewable fuel credit market” by Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/business/sust…
“Debt” by David Graeber
https://www.amazon.com/Debt-First-5-0…
Others:
Bitcoin energy consumption index
https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-ener…
Cambridge study on cryptoassets
https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/…
Triffin Dilemma
https://dailyreckoning.com/the-triffi…Alex Gladstein’s Recommended Follows:
Nic Carter
Tweets by nic__carter
Lyn Alden
Tweets by LynAldenContact
Susan Su
Tweets by susanfsu
Luke Gromen
Tweets by LukeGromen
Michael Hudson
Tweets by michaelwhudson
Will Wall Street Ruin Bitcoin? Featuring Ben Hunt and Alex Gladstein
As traditional financial institutions line up to get into bitcoin, a debate on whether it can stay permissionless and censorship resistant.
For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.
This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com and Nexo.io.
Ben Hunt is the founder of Second Foundation Partners and lead author of Epsilon Theory. Alex Gladstein is the chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation.
In this conversation, they discuss one of the most important burgeoning topics of the year: In a world where bitcoin (BTC, +4.91%) goes mainstream with traditional financial institutions, can it keep its more renegade spirit? More important, can it keep its more renegade features such as permissionless access and censorship resistance?
Ben and Alex join for a good faith, spirited discussion of whether the bitcoin we know today will be preserved or whether it is doomed to be co-opted by the financial powers that be.