UNDERSTANDING TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE OF DEFI

Ash Bennington, senior crypto editor for Real Vision, sits down with James Bianco, president of Bianco Research, to discuss his view of the financial markets, DAOs, macro strategies, regulation, and the role of government in the economy. When he began looking into Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2017, Bianco did not see much utility for these new assets. However, during the crypto winter of 2018-2019, Bianco noticed the rise of DeFi and saw last summer how these new emerging rails were being built as a parallel financial system. Bianco sees this new system as 1.0, “the Wild West,” but more innovation will come. To him, DeFi is headed toward the creation of a whole new financial system. Filmed May 17th, 2021. Key Insights: Bianco states that volatility is part of any emerging technology—investors, regardless of experience, should understand that high-growth, tech companies go through “boom and bust” cycles all the time. For crypto, Bianco advises that it’s critical to separate the concept from the protocol. When choosing what to invest in, he urges investors to consider, “Is this concept too early? Does the system have longevity? What research has been done?” This will be paramount to understanding the future of the space and, by extension, will open the door for users from all generations and technical prowess to enter.

Their world doesn’t benefit from it because they are at the top of the heap (6 min remaining)
I can see that this isn’t ready yet for the whole world but I can see how useful it could be.

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 consumption

Thank you to our sponsors!

E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit
Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchai…
Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange

Episode 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

Lyn Alden

Susan Su

Luke Gromen

Michael Hudson

Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption (Is Becoming more Efficient)

Bitcoin’s energy consumption has stayed flat since mid 2018 (almost 3 years), despite huge growth in users, and dollars moved on the network. Many skeptics point to the irony of Tesla buying Bitcoin (because of its focus on renewable energy), but fail to understand this. The monetary system requires energy. Yes, Bitcoin consumes a lot, but it’s not more than we can handle, especially if the trend of rising average transaction values continues. What are your thoughts on this? Was it hypocritical for Tesla to buy Bitcoin? Are you happy they did?