The Peter McCormack Show

Location: Zoom Date: Wednesday 29th July Company: Stony Brook University Role: Professor of Economics and Public Policy With the abandonment of the gold standard in the early 20th century, there has been nothing to limit the amount of money a central bank can print, leading to a rapid rise in national debts. In the US debt alone, the national debt stands at $26.5 trillion, and the growth is accelerating. While conventional economic theory would suggest this ever-growing debt is dangerous as it can lead to uncontrollable rises in inflation and a devaluing of the dollar, there is a newer school of thought; Modern Monetary Theory which makes a different argument. MMT suggests that governments should not be concerned with increasing debt, arguing the only risk is inflation, which is controllable. MMT is the antithesis to the Austrian school of thought that aligns with Bitcoin's monetary policy of fixed supply and deflationary issuance. In this interview, I talk to Stephanie Kelton, professor of economics and public policy at Stony Brook University. We discuss the benefits of modern monetary theory, why increased spending may not lead to inflation, national debt and money printing.

Location: Zoom Date: Tuesday 21st July Company: hardmoneyfilm.com Role: Film Maker Some of the earliest forms of money included seashells and glass beads before people discovered precious metals and began trading using silver and gold. Anything can be a medium of exchange, but the forms of money that have stood the test of time are scarce. We are now in the era of fiat money; government-controlled, paper money, with no intrinsic value or backing. Fiat money is easy to produce, and with that, there is a huge incentive for governments to keep printing more of it. They do this for several reasons from bailing out business to providing economic stimulus when their policies have failed. Throughout history, gold has been the hardest form of money, until 2009, when Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin. With a fixed supply of 21 million and a controlled issuance, Bitcoin is the hardest money we have ever seen. In this interview, I talk to Richard James, the creator of Hard Money, a film looking at how money has been corrupted and co-opted. We discuss Austrian economics, the similarities between gold and Bitcoin, Hard Money and modern art.

Location: Zoom Date: Thursday 23rd July Company: Coinbase Role: Co-Founder & CEO Coinbase is amongst the largest and most established Bitcoin companies in the world, and it has secured itself as one of the most accessible places to buy and sell Bitcoin. Its latest round of funding valued Coinbase at $8.1 billion, and there are rumours that the company plans to be listed on a U.S stock exchange later this year. Forbes recently called Coinbase 'Bitcoin's Guardian Angel' and claimed it would make 'crypto safe for all'; however, the view within the Bitcoin community is quite different. Coinbase has come under heavy scrutiny in recent years, most notably for their $13.5 million acquisition of blockchain intelligence company Neutrino. Following this acquisition, it was revealed that the Neutrino founders were involved in the Hacking Team, a team of people who reportedly sold surveillance tools to governments, including authoritarian regimes. With this news, #deletecoinbase was trending on bitcoin twitter, putting CEO Brian Armstrong under considerable pressure to fire the team. More recently, Coinbase again sparked controversy when The Block reported that the company agreed to sell blockchain analysis software to The Secret Service and the IRS, and was planning a similar deal with the DEA. In this interview, I talk to Brian Armstrong, CEO and Co-Founder of Coinbase. We discuss the difficulties in running a large startup, regulations, the Neutrino acquisition & providing analytics to government agencies with Coinbase Analytics.

Location: Zoom Date: Monday 13th July Bitcoin is the most significant disruption to money the world has seen in hundreds of years. It takes power away from centralised parties, and it allows any individual to be entirely self-sovereign and operate in an open system uncontrollable and uncensorable by anyone. Bitcoin is punk rock! Punk was not just about music; it was a movement that fought for personal freedom and individualism while remaining staunchly anti-establishment. Keith Levene is a punk legend and was a founding member of iconic band The Clash and co-founded Public Image Ltd alongside former Sex Pistol, John Lydon. With the alignment of punk and Bitcoin, it is not surprising that Keith Levene is a Bitcoiner, and a couple of months ago Keith reached out to me and told me he was a regular listener of the show. In this interview, we discuss the early days of punk rock, the similarities between punk and Bitcoin and why he cares about Bitcoin.

Location: Zoom Date: Wednesday 15th July Role: CEO and Chief Global Strategist The reasons to hold either gold or Bitcoin are similar, yet the two assets possess different tradeoffs and risks. Bitcoiners often refer to Bitcoin as digital gold or gold 2.0, as they consider it a store of wealth like gold. Whether you prefer one asset or are a proponent of both, these assets help protect individuals against the broken fiat monetary system, inflation and a debt-based economy. While the assets have many similarities, for some, it isn't gold and Bitcoin; instead, it is gold vs Bitcoin. Peter Schiff is a stockbroker, financial commentator, economist and gold bug who is hugely sceptical about Bitcoin. Schiff regularly derides Bitcoin on twitter and has done so since 2012 claiming that Bitcoin has no intrinsic value. In this interview, I speak to Peter Schiff, and we discuss what he doesn't like about Bitcoin, if he sees the alignment between Bitcoin and gold, the properties of sound money and if Bitcoin should be considered a store of value.

Location: Zoom Date: Thursday 2nd July Role: Author Libertarianism is something I have been wrestling with since I discovered Bitcoin. Hard money leads you down many rabbit holes, and questioning the role of the state is one of the deepest. At face value, libertarianism sounds perfect; more freedom, less intervention and limited or no state. However, I have struggled to understand how this would play out and if the idea of an anarchist society being civil and moral is just an ideological fallacy rather than a practical reality. Many libertarians see hyperbitcoinisation as the most likely manifestation of an anarchist society, in that it allows individuals to be self-sovereign, take control of their wealth and remove power from the government. In this interview, I talk to Knut Svanholm, author of Bitcoin: Sovereignty Through Mathematics and Bitcoin: Independence Reimagined. We discuss libertarianism, collectivism v individualism and how Bitcoin is the only path to a libertarian society.

Location: Zoom Date:Tuesday 30th June Company/project: Castle Island Ventures, Adamant Capital, Parallax Digital & River Financial Role: Partner, Founding Partner, Founder & Founder The global economy is in a precarious position. With the coronavirus enforced lockdowns closing down businesses around the world, central banks have been printing money at unprecedented levels to prevent economies from collapsing. While this has eased the pressure in Western nations, some smaller countries are starting to experience the impact. The currency in Lebanon has all but collapsed, and inflation in Zimbabwe has nearly reached 800%. Could high inflation be coming to the UK, Europe and the US? While the implication of a global economic meltdown may not be known for years, it is precisely this sort of situation that many Bitcoiners have highlighted as the perfect environment for Bitcoin to thrive. So, what comes next for Bitcoin? This interview is from a panel I recently hosted for Real Vision's The Crypto Gathering event, with Nic Carter, Tuur Demeester, Robert Breedlove & Alex Leishman. We discuss the current state of the economy, Bitcoin as a peaceful protest and what comes next.

Location: Zoom Date: Friday 3rd July Company/Project: DarkHorse Podcast Role: Host In 2017, Bret Weinstein was thrust into the public limelight, when he objected to a change in the college's tradition of observing a "Day of Absence". Bret stating that "there is a huge difference between a group or coalition deciding to voluntarily absent themselves from a shared space in order to highlight their vital and under-appreciated roles, and a group or coalition encouraging another group to go away." It led to widespread protests and claims that Bret was "a racist" and the college was forced to close for two days. Following the Evergreen College protests, Bret outlined the threat of behaviour like this spilling over into the outside world. His concerns were proven correct after the death of George Floyd. In the days following Floyd's death, people took to the streets across the US and then across the world. What originated as a Black Lives Matter movement, quickly became infiltrated by far-left groups. In this interview, I talk to Bret Weinstein, a biologist and evolutionary theorist, who was at the center of the Evergreen College controversy. We discuss the US protests, bipartisan politics, inequality, and where Bitcoin fits into this and #Unity2020.

Location: Zoom Date: Monday 29th June Company/Project: Real Vision, Wyoming Blockchain Coalition, Ikigai Asset Management Role: Co-Founder & CEO, Co-Founder, Chief Investment Officer In late 2019 and early 2020, the global economy was showing signs of stress. Even before coronavirus, we saw the Fed having to step in and provide liquidity for the repo market and issuing rate cuts. But the rapid spread of coronavirus around the world and the resulting lockdowns has further exposed cracks in the global economy. Stock markets experienced high volatility as the economic impact of businesses closing hit with Wall Street suffered its worst day since 'Black Monday' and oil prices going negative for the first time in history. Governments responded with unprecedented levels of quantitative easing, and some countries are now seeing their currencies collapsing. Many analysts have suggested that rather than coronavirus being the cause of this economic downturn, it was instead the black swan event that acted as the pin that popped the bubble and the enormous debts that have been amounting for decades was a disaster waiting to happen. Over the past year, I have spoken to several economists including Raoul Pal, Caitlin Long and Travis Kling, all of whom warned that a financial collapse is coming. So, what is happening at the moment, what can we expect to see next, and how can we all prepare? This interview is from a panel I recently hosted for Real Vision's The Crypto Gathering, with Raoul Pal, Caitlin Long & Travis Kling. We discuss the early warning signs of systemic issues in the global macroeconomy, what might happen next and where Bitcoin fits into this.

Location: Zoom Date: Tuesday 23rd July Company/Project: N/A & Unchained Capital Role: N/A & Director of Product Marketing Throughout 2019, President Trump's re-election campaign looked to be on steady ground, but 2020 has been a very different story. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, countries across the world have gone into lockdown. However, Trump, Fox News and a large number of key Republicans initially played down the risk of the pandemic, and Trump has faced fierce criticism for his lack of decisive action. The US has been the most severely affected country, with around one quarter of all recorded infections and deaths. During this same period, the killing of George Floyd sent shockwaves across America. Millions took to the streets to protest police brutality and to campaign for Black Lives Matter. Many of these protests quickly turned violent and, again, Trump was criticised for his lack of decisive action and leadership, epitomised when he retreated to his bunker rather than addressing the nation. The pandemic and protests have opened up the election race, and while Trump has furiously Tweeted, Joe Biden has mostly retreated from public view. Support for Trump appears to be dropping, and most recently, Trump's rally in Tulsa was only attended by 6,200 people in attendance, in a building with a 19,000 capacity. While 2020 has been mostly negative for Trump's re-election campaign, he does have fiercely loyal supporters, and while the polls indicate Biden has a clear lead, this will likely be another close election. I tweeted that I would bet anyone $5,000 in Bitcoin that Trump would lose. American Hodl (@hodl_american) took me up on the bet. Phil Geiger, from Unchained Capital, agreed to arbiter the debt, holding the 3rd key in a multisig wallet we set up using Unchained Capital's Caravan product. In this interview, Hodl, Phil and I discuss the bet, US politics, if the current economic and social situation is positive or negative for Trump, populism, voter suppression and the election race.

Location: Zoom Date: Friday, 19th June Company/Project: Kraken Role: Director of Business Development The very early believers in Bitcoin tended to fall into two camps, the Libertarians who were drawn to the censorship resistance & self-sovereignty of Bitcoin and the tech-savvy developers who saw a new experimental technology that was the first to truly offer a distributed & decentralised digital money. As Bitcoin has gained in value, it too has grown to appeal to audiences that don't necessarily fit into these two camps. Fewer tech-savvy people have come to Bitcoin for 'number go up' more than the censorship resistance and decentralisation. For these people, coming into Bitcoin can be hostile and confusing. The community is understandably frosty to those not willing to learn about the importance of holding their own keys, protecting their privacy and being self-sovereign and the software can be confusing and unintuitive. For newcomers running a node is difficult, holding your private keys daunting and interacting with the community scary. So, improving both the UX and marketing of Bitcoin is key to attracting less technical people to the space. In this interview, I talk to Dan Held the Director of Business Development at Kraken. We discuss the importance of easy user experience, how Bitcoin can be a daunting experience, if newcomers should hold their private keys and why marketing matters.

Location: Zoom Date: Friday, 19th June Role: Entrepreneur & Author In an inflationary Keynesian economic system, governments target low inflation to ensure a healthy economy and steady growth; however, inflation functions as a hidden tax on savings. Inflation also leads to a drop in purchasing power which drives the incentive to spend and invest rather than save. Deflation, the opposite to inflation, is when the price of a basket of goods and services drops. Unlike inflation, deflation means the purchasing power of your savings increase over time and therefore, incentivises saving as opposed to spending. Many traditional economists see deflation as dangerous as people will reduce spend with an expectation of products becoming cheaper, but this leads to an economy based on growth at any cost. Jeff Booth, author of The Price of Tomorrow: Why deflation is the Key to an Abundant Future presents an alternative argument. In this interview, I talk to Jeff Booth, and we discuss the current economic & social situation, how an inflationary system has caused inequality & division and how Bitcoin & deflation can fix this.

Location: Zoom Date: Wednesday, 17th June Project: Basecamp Role: Founder & CTO New concerns have been raised around Apple's business model after the company rejected future updates for Basecamp's newly launched email app Hey. Apple initially approved the app, but then put it on hold — meaning Basecamp couldn't submit any updates or bug fixes until it added an option for users to subscribe to Hey's service through an in-app purchase. Basecamp has disputed this decision, saying it shouldn't be forced to allow users to sign up for Hey through in-app purchase, subjecting then to Apple's 30% tax on its subscription fee. HEY's predicament has highlighted inconsistencies in Apple's policy execution, having allowed other apps with similar business models to exist in the App Store without mandatory in-app subscriptions. They have also made exemptions for streaming applications and rivals; Amazon and Netflix. The case has raised questions about how Apple is operating and whether it's exercising an anti-competitive advantage over services from third-party developers. HEY's fight comes as the company is already facing two EU antitrust investigations after Spotify and other firms filed similar complaints to those raised by Basecamp. In this bonus episode, I talk to Basecamp Founder & CTO, David Hansson. We discuss Apple's threats to remove their email app HEY from the App Store and Apple's monopolistic business model.

Location: Zoom Date: Tuesday 16th June Project: Human Rights Foundation & Bitcoin Developer Role: Chief Strategy Officer & Independent Developer Privacy is a fundamental human right, and with society migrating away from physical to digital cash, we are losing one of the remaining ways to transact privately. Bitcoin is an entirely public ledger, in that every transaction is broadcast to everyone running the Bitcoin software. Anyone can view these transactions, but there are ways to obfuscate your spends and make it more difficult, or even close to impossible to follow the trail of transactions. Currently, the most widely used method for adding privacy to bitcoin is to use CoinJoin services like Wasabi or Samourai. These wallets allow you to add your UTXOs to a transaction along with numerous other participants. Coinjoin can significantly increase anonymity, depending on the number of other participants. Originally put forward by Greg Maxwell in 2013, Coinswap is a somewhat different method of anonymising your footprint on the Bitcoin network. Chris Belcher recently took the idea and put together a proposal and has received funding from the Human Rights Foundation to develop it. In this interview, I talk to Bitcoin developer Chris Belcher and Alex Gladstein, the Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation. We discuss financial privacy as a human right, Bitcoin privacy, financing devs and Chris' work on Coinswap.

Location: Zoom Date: Friday 12th June Project: The Investors Podcast Role: Host With the current global economic outlook and rise in social unrest, we are living in unprecedented times. The coronavirus pandemic, subsequent lockdowns and preventative measures put in place by governments around the world has led to many businesses closing or relying on bailouts, and jobless figures are amongst the highest since records began. The killing of George Floyd at the hands of the police has seen protests against racial inequality have spread across the world. In the US, especially, these protests turned have turned into riots with looting, buildings burnt down and violent clashes. During this time of uncertainty, the S&P500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have both climbed ~40% since the drop in March, seemingly proving that the markets can behave irrationally. Some analysts are pointing to dangerous signals that we are heading towards the collapse of currencies. Are all of these combined events the perfect storm for Bitcoin? In this interview, I talk to Preston Pysh, author, engineer & the host of The Investor Podcast. We discuss the global macroeconomy, deflation vs inflation and why now Bitcoin is more important than ever.

Location: Zoom Date: Thursday 28th May Project: Microsoft Role: Head of Decentralised Identity Social media is omnipresent with most all of us have a Twitter, Facebook or Google account, using them every day for both personal and business. We build connections, relationships and trust through them. However, these companies implement strict controls over the content on their platforms with shadowbanning and deplatforming growing. The controls which they enforce on their platforms can have further-reaching consequences. As well as offering access via a standard email and password, most websites also provide the option to login via a Facebook, Twitter or Google account. If one of those services decides to deplatform you, then you could lose your account with any associated websites. To solve this issue and improve on the nature of IDs, Microsoft has launched their Decentralised Identity program in which they offer users a decentralised personal identifier, which is under your control, using the most immutable and secure solution; Bitcoin. In this interview, I talk to Daniel Buchner, Head of Decentralised Identity at Microsoft to discuss how a Bitcoin-based decentralised identity system works. We also talk about libertarianism, coronavirus and the protests over the death of George Floyd.

Location: Zoom Date: Friday 5th June Project: Coindesk Role: Journalist The role of a journalist is to question, educate and inform. A truly free press is a fundamental pillar of a free society, and unbiased and objective reporting is crucial in getting a broad understanding of any industry. News corporations are now arguably more partisan and divided than ever before, highlighted by how Fox News and CNN have become partisan propaganda outlets. Fox News is pro-Trump and will defend him and his policies almost without exception; alternatively, CNN is pro-democrat and will question almost everything Trump and his administration do. Within Bitcoin, there can be a similar lack of objectivity and willingness to challenge the status quo critically. The Bitcoin community are often referred to as its immune system, by being aggressive and vocal about anything that seemingly questions the direction or ethos of the network they protect it from coercion and negative outside influences. While this is mostly a useful stance in an industry that has more than its fair share of scammers and questionable projects, this can make the role of journalism within Bitcoin tricky to navigate. Despite long and firmly held beliefs, Bitcoin evolves, as does the size of the user base and how they use Bitcoin. Journalists must challenge commonly held beliefs, even if these means hard criticism from Bitcoiners. In this interview, I am joined by Leigh Cuen, a journalist and writer at Coindesk. We discuss the importance of journalism, Bitcoin as a peaceful revolution and the strict narratives that are held by Bitcoiners.

Location: Zoom Date: Wednesday 3rd June Project: Bitcoin & Black America Role: Author On May 25th George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin. Police were called over allegations that George Floyd had used a counterfeit $20 bill. During the arrest, Chauvin restrained Floyd by placing his knee on his neck and pinning him to the ground, during this time Floyd was pleading with the officer repeatedly stating "I can't breathe". After 8 minutes and 46 seconds and with paramedics on the scene, Chauvin finally took his knee off Floyd's neck, he was unresponsive and later pronounced dead. Following Floyd's death, there have been widespread protests across America which have now spread to other countries. In several places in the US, these protests have been violent with looting, fires and large scale destruction. While the black community is reeling at yet another death at the hands of a police officer, Isaiah Jackson, the author of Bitcoin & Black America suggests that building a black economy offers a way out of institutionalised racism. In this interview, we discuss the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and riots, racism in the US, and how the black community can use Bitcoin.

Location: Zoom Date: Wednesday 27th May Project: Guns N' Bitcoin Role: Chief Range Officer Bitcoin's immune system has evolved from years of defeating threats, staving off bad actors and protecting the core principles of the network. Many Bitcoiners consider Bitcoin as gold 2.0, threatening the corrupt practices of central banking. As such, small blocks, the fee market and hodling are essential components of defeating fiat. With such staunch views from within the community, even just opening up these topics for debate can see a backlash from Bitcoiners. Why has spending Bitcoin become such a contentious issue for some? It was the Silk Road and Wikipedia, which proved the importance of censorship resistance, enabling people to circumvent oppressive government rules. Developers working on Bitcoin are held to the highest levels of scrutiny, and rightly so, but why aren't the ideas around Bitcoin usage equally scrutinised? In this interview, I talk to Ragnar Lifthrasir from Guns N' Bitcoin. We discuss the Bitcoiner narratives, why spending Bitcoin is as important as hodling, libertarianism, guns and the 2nd amendment.

Location: Zoom Date: Thursday 28th May Project: Abra Role: Founder & CEO This week, Goldman Sachs held an investment advisory call for its clients during which it slammed Bitcoin as an investment and refused to accept it as an asset class. Goldman's take on Bitcoin was in equal parts bearish and ignorant, with the investment bank listing five reasons for not classing Bitcoin as an asset or a suitable investment: Bitcoin does not generate cash flow like bonds. Bitcoin does not generate any earnings through exposure to global economic growth. Bitcoin does not provide consistent diversification benefits given its unstable correlations. Bitcoin does not dampen volatility given historical volatility of 76%. Goldman points to March 12 when bitcoin fell 37%. Bitcoin does not show evidence of hedging against inflation. Goldman raised numerous regularly debunked points as a negative, from scarcity to hard forks to illicit use cases, and compared Bitcoin to the Tulip mania of the 17th century. Godman's investor call is not Bitcoin's first time Wall Street has challenged Bitcoin. In 2017 Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan called Bitcoin a fraud and Warren Buffet has called all cryptocurrencies worthless. So why do some on Wall Street refuse to accept Bitcoin? Is it down to ignorance or does Bitcoin threaten their business model? In this interview, I am joined by Bill Barhydt, the CEO and Founder of Abra. We discuss and debunk Goldman Sachs' arguments against Bitcoin as well as the reasons behind their lazy research.

Location: Zoom Date: Friday 22nd May Role: Independent Trader Despite being the best performing asset over the past decade, Bitcoin is an incredibly volatile asset and risky to trade. Outperforming the market is hard, and very few people manage to beat the strategy of buying and holding. Unlike traditional markets, bitcoin markets are open 24/7/365, and traded on both regulated and unregulated exchanges. High leverage options and low liquidity altcoins make it easy for a newcomer to wipe out their trading accounts quickly. While few traders are profitable, a large number of the Bitcoin community find the temptation to increase their bitcoin stack hard to resist. I always recommend against trading, especially if you are new to Bitcoin, but this doesn't stop people. So, if you want to try trading, what are the basic things you need to understand? In this episode, I talk to Flood, an independent Bitcoin trader. We discuss the key things a newcomer to trading needs to know from which exchanges to use, trading strategies, leverage, finding your edge and the common mistakes.

Location: Zoom Date: Monday 18th May Project: Gemini Role: Co-Founders The Social Network, directed by David Fincher, introduced Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss to the world. The film told the story of how Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea to create Facebook, and would later settle for $65 million. After settling the court case and retiring from their careers in rowing, where the twins represented the USA in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, they started a fund and discovered Bitcoin. In 2014 they created Gemini, now one of the largest regulated cryptocurrency exchanges. The film portrayed the twins as cliche sporting jocks, an image which has been hard to shake off. Cameron and Tyler are more at home building things and their success since Harvard is not luck. My picture of the twins, like most, was created from the Social Network and their appearances on mainstream news discussing finance, but I wanted to know more about them. This interview is, therefore, the interview I have wanted to hear from them. We discuss The Social Network, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, how they discovered Bitcoin, regulations and the role of Wall Street.

Location: Zoom Date: Friday 15th May Project: Blockstream Role: CEO & Chief Strategy Officer Bitcoin: decentralised, permissionless, censorship-resistant and unconfiscatable. Unique properties which make it a unique form of money For Bitcoin to keep growing, these features mustn't be compromised. However, scaling solutions for Bitcoin, may trade off some of these features for other benefits. With the vast majority of the community in agreement that block sizes must remain small to maximise decentralisation, Bitcoin is best scaled using layered solutions. The Liquid Network, like the Lightning Network, is a layer two solution that, by sacrificing some aspects of decentralisation and censorship resistance, can improve speed and scalability. Liquid is a project spearheaded by Blockstream and is aimed at traders, exchanges and market makers to offer faster and more confidential transactions than the Bitcoin basechain. It also adds the ability to build tokens on the network. In this interview, I talk to Adam Back and Samson Mow Blockstream's CEO & Chief Strategy Officer. We discuss The Liquid Network, the tradeoffs between Liquid and the basechain, how it differs from Lightning network and tokenised securities.

Location: Zoom Date: January to March 2020 Bitcoin can be intimidating for beginners. The protocol is complicated, the community can be unforgiving, silly mistakes can lose you money, and it is easy to succumb to altcoin marketing. Bitcoin offers you the opportunity to hold a new type of monetary asset, one which can't be seized by the government and is censorship resistance, and it is changing the world. Bitcoin is multifaceted. Some treat Bitcoin as a speculative tool for growing wealth, others as a way of avoiding financial censorship from traditional payment channels, and some use it as a way of claiming their monetary sovereignty and removing power from the banks and state. On 31st October 2008, Bitcoin was introduced to the world by its pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin brought with it an alternative to the banking system, a way of truly controlling your finances and the opportunity to 'be your own bank'. Being your own bank is incredibly powerful but is often a confusing and misused term. There are currently 1.7 billion people across the world who do not have access to proper banking services. Bitcoin can fix this by allowing users to hold, send and receive value. Governments have a history of putting pressure on payment systems and censoring transactions. In 2010 Visa, Mastercard and PayPal all stopped allowing payments to WikiLeaks. Bitcoin fixed this. Bitcoin's power is in its decentralised, censorship-resistant, neutral, permissionless network that allows you to transact globally without any intermediary or third party and with whoever you want for whatever reason you want. Bitcoin doesn't care. We will soon be living in a cashless society, government-issued 'fiat' currency will become entirely digital, and we will wave goodbye to any remaining shreds of financial privacy that still exist. Some governments will look to create a cryptocurrency alternative; providing the perfect tool for increased financial surveillance and oppression and represents the antithesis of Bitcoin. We may have to choose whether we use Bitcoin or a state-run digital currency. So, why should we choose Bitcoin? In this episode, I have compiled various clips from my 17-part Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin with some of the leading experts in the space. As an introduction to Bitcoin, this guide covers essential Bitcoin topics from how it works to its monetary policy.

Location: Zoom Date: Sunday 10th May Project: Hypersheet Role: Co-Founder On May 11th, at block 630000 Bitcoin had its 3rd halving, cutting the block reward issued to the miners from 12.5BTC to 6.25BTC. This reduction in the subsidy is seen by many as a bullish event for Bitcoin. With the block reward cut in half, the amount of Bitcoin available for the miners to sell in the market drops from 1800 BTC/day to 900 BTC/day, reducing the sell pressure from newly minted coins. Bitcoin's recent drop in price has been attributed, by some, to miners selling off some of their Bitcoin, to support lower revenues with the blog subsidy halving. While miners have typically been the largest sellers in the Bitcoin market, now that the subsidy has again cut in half, Willy Woo has claimed the majority of the sell pressure will not come from the exchanges. Woo puts this down to the rise in popularity of the derivatives and futures markets on exchanges such as BitMex and Deribit. These exchanges take fees of up to 0.075% per trade and offer high leverage options of up to 100x. As the popularity of these exchanges has grown, so have the fees. With the selling pressure from miners dropping and the sell pressure from the exchanges growing, is trading detrimental to the growth of Bitcoin? In this interview, I am joined by Willy Woo, an on-chain analyst and the co-founder of Hypersheet. We discuss Bitcoin trading, the rise of the unregulated, high leverage futures platforms and if trading is damaging to the growth of Bitcoin.

Location: Zoom Date: Tuesday 5th May Project: The Libertarian Party Role: Party Leader & Coordinator Long before Bitcoin dropped on the world, libertarians have criticised government-issued fiat money, arguing that it goes against their core beliefs of political freedom and autonomy, viewing gold as a superior currency. Many libertarians were early to Bitcoin, understanding its sound monetary policy. I have spoken with many US-based libertarians, but like any political movement or philosophy, there is no one size fits all approach, and the libertarians range in their beliefs from full anarcho-capitalists to minarchists. So, I wanted to get a different perspective from libertarians in the UK, engaged in the political process to ultimately reduce then bring an end to the state. In this interview, I talk to Adam Brown & Sean Finch, the party leader and coordinator for the UK Libertarian Party. We discuss the current political landscape, the push for less government, healthcare and freedom of speech.

Location: Zoom Date: Monday 4th May Project: Parallax Digital Role: Founder & CEO The properties for measuring the soundness of money include divisibility, durability, portability, recognisability and scarcity. Current government-issued and controlled fiat money fit some of these characteristics but, with the central bank's ability to print money at will, the current system completely fails as a scarce resource. Historically metals have been the best form of money, with gold outcompeting all other metals to become the number one metal used as a currency and store of value. It is durable, recognisable and scarce; however, government-issued fiat became a better form of cash as it is more portable and divisible. Since 1971, when the US came off the gold standard, and the government has been able to issue more fiat, the purchasing power of the dollar has fallen. As such, gold has proven to be a better store of wealth than fiat. Many see Bitcoin as digital gold with the added benefits of being highly divisible and able to be sent anywhere in the world quickly and at low cost. Bitcoin also offers censorship resistance, immutability and the ability to store wealth out of the reach of the government. Bitcoin is a new paradigm in money. In this interview, I talk to Robert Breedlove the Founder and CEO of Parallax Digital. Robert recently wrote An Open Letter to Ray Dalio explaining how Bitcoin will reshape the world. We discuss Bitcoin's ability to outcompete the current financial system.

Location: Zoom Date: Wednesday 29th April Project: Independent Trader Role: Bitcoin Quant Analyst Plan₿'s Stock-to-Flow model was warmly received by many in Bitcoin. The chart gave context to price action around halvings, validating the importance of scarcity. The S2F model does have critics, and with the third halving approaching, some had questioned whether the reducing subsidy drive price. The halving is one of the most significant events in the Bitcoin calendar. Every 210,000 blocks (~4 years) the block subsidy issued to the miners reduced by half. Initially, the block reward was 50BTC, now 11 years later on approximately May 12th, we will have the 3rd halving taking the block reward from 12.5BTC to 6.25BTC. By the end of this reward period on May 12th, 87.5% of all Bitcoin will have been mined. Satoshi implemented the halving as a way of controlling inflation, front-loading the rewards to kick start the protocol. Dan Held stated that halvings are a viral marketing loop which creates awareness. Historically, the Bitcoin price in the weeks and months following the halving has seen significant moves to the upside, with supply cut in half Bitcoin becomes more scarce and demand may increase. The Stock-to-Flow model tracks the scarcity of an asset and following the halving the stock to flow ratio of Bitcoin will rise from 25 to 50, meaning it would take 50 years for miners to mine enough Bitcoin to match the current Bitcoin supply, at the current level of issuance. When applied to non-digital assets such as gold and silver, stock-to-flow becomes a benchmarking tool. Plan B identified a flaw in the model, the overreliance on time. In the latest version of his model, Bitcoin Stock-to-Flow Cross Asset Model (S2FX), time is removed, and other assets such as gold and silver are added. The new model includes a significant change, Phase Transitions, which identifies that the properties of an asset can change. These changes in the properties of Bitcoin, for example maturing from digital cash to digital gold, identify why the market for the asset grows; thus, there is increasing demand. In this interview, I talk to Bitcoin Quant Analyst & creator of the popular stock to flow model, Plan₿. We discuss his new S2FX model, the upcoming Bitcoin halving, predicted price action and the impact on miners.

Location: Zoom Date: Wednesday 22nd April Project: Coinkite Role: CEO & Co-Founder Bitcoin attracts a broad range of enthusiasts with different backgrounds, experience and political beliefs. The spectrum is broad, from those who treat it purely as a speculative asset, happy to buy and hold, to those who head deep down the anti-state and hard money rabbit hole. Those who are attracted to Bitcoin's hard money properties may often align with Libertarian ideas, free markets and the separation of money and state. These Bitcoiners will often push hard important topics such as holding your own private keys, validating transactions with a node, enhancing privacy with CoinJoin and generally hating on any altcoin or token project. The most hardcore of Bitcoiners may even avoid exchanges due to KYC/AML legislation and find other ways to accumulate Bitcoin. Almost all Bitcoiners will fit somewhere between these two extremes, and the beauty of Bitcoin is that it doesn't care about your personal beliefs. As Bitcoin continues to grow, it will attract people who may not align with some of the more anarcho-capitalist opinions but still wish to use Bitcoin. So, is it the job of more radical Bitcoiners to push everyone towards holding their keys, running a node and improving their privacy and OPSEC? While these are good practices, what about those who do not align with libertarianism or Austrian Economics, should Bitcoin welcome all or be toxic to those who don't follow certain ideologies. In this interview, I talk to Rodolfo Novak, the CEO & Co-Founder of Coinkite and Bitcoin OG. We get into Bitcoin purity and discuss self custody & personal responsibility, hardware wallets and Bitcoin narratives.

Location: Zoom Date: Monday 3th March Project: Bitcoin & Co Podcast Role: Host Earlier this year, I travelled to Venezuela to find out the reality of Bitcoin adoption in the country and what I found didn't exactly fit the widely accepted narrative. The truth is that while Bitcoin may have some use cases for the middle and upper classes, the poorest in Venezuela are surviving on a few dollars a month, and Bitcoin is not a useful currency for them. Zimbabwe, like Venezuela, is often touted as a perfect use case for Bitcoin. Both countries have experienced hyperinflation, both have significant wealth disparity, and both have a high percentage of the population unbanked. So, is Bitcoin more widely adopted in Zimbabwe, and how can Zimbabweans take advantage of it? In this interview, I talk to Anita Posch, Bitcoin podcaster, speaker and author. We discuss Anita's recent trip to Zimbabwe, free speech & freedom of expression, scams & MLM, hyperinflation and if and how Zimbabweans are using Bitcoin.

Location: Zoom Date: Friday, 10th April Project: Circle Role: CEO & Founder By complementing Bitcoin trading, and making it easy to send digital dollars around the world, stablecoins continue to grow in popularity. Commercial banks operate on a fractional basis, holding only a small % of deposits. During challenging economic times, this can lead to what is known as a run on the bank, where depositors attempt to withdraw their funds. Unlike fractionally reserved banks, some stablecoins claim to be fully backed, meaning (for example) that for every 1 USDC, GUSD or USDT, the company claims they hold an equivalent $1. Stablecoins come with their risks and trade-offs, from the risk of being hacked to platform dependency. In a time of economic uncertainty, do stablecoins offer a better saving solution than our banks? And what are the pros and cons of self custody vs the high-interest rate savings accounts? In this interview, I talk to Jeremy Allaire, the CEO & Founder of Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin. We discuss the use case for stablecoins, the benefit of being fully backed rather and the impact on the economy from coronavirus.

Location: Zoom Date: Friday, 10th April Project: Blockstream Role: Director of Research Bitcoin is very conservative. Unlike the typical tech industry ethos of move fast and break things, it is paramount that Bitcoin upgrades and changes to the protocol are absolutely necessary, slow, well planned and well tested. Two protocol changes that have been discussed for a while now are Schnorr signatures and Taproot. These proposals have lots of positive implications, including an improvement to privacy and scalability, but what will it mean for an average Bitcoin user? What is next on the roadmap? In this interview, I talk to Andrew Poelstra, the Director of Research at Blockstream. We discuss the upcoming upgrades to the Bitcoin protocol, including Schnorr signatures, Taproot and Miniscript and what that means to Bitcoin users.

Location: Zoom Date: Wednesday, 8th April Project: BlockFi Role: Co-Founders On March 12th Bitcoin fell by over 50% from ~$8,000 to ~$3,800. One day earlier, the World Health Organisation had escalated the evolving COVID-19 situation to pandemic status, and Bitcoin wasn't alone in this, markets around the world crashed. The Coronavirus black swan event caused huge volatility which has been a critical concern held by many Bitcoiners about Bitcoin financial service companies. Critiques of these services have questioned what the impact would be of such an event on crypto-backed loans and whether they would lead to high default rates from borrowers. Would the risk management strategies put in place by companies such as BlockFi be robust enough? Coronavirus would trigger the market collapse that would test the doubter's theories. In this interview, I talk to Zac Prince and Flori Marquez, the co-founders of BlockFi, a bitcoin financial services business. We discuss how they manage high volatility, operating as a custodian and the state of the Bitcoin market.

Location: Zoom Date: Wednesday, 1st April Project: WTFhappenedin1971.com Role: Host The gold standard was a monetary system in which the value of countries currency was directly linked to the amount of gold held in reserve. Although not currently used by any government, it was once a widely used system. A currency backed by a scarce asset such as gold prevents the government from printing more money without consequences. In 1931 the Bank of England abandoned the gold standard 'temporarily'; however, it never returned. Following Britains move to abandon the gold standard, a number of other countries followed suit. In 1933, during the Great Depression, US residents began hoarding gold which led US President Roosevelt to order all gold worth over $100 to be returned to the federal reserve and exchanged for paper money. The following year the price of gold, set by the US government, was increased to $35/once which, raising the feds balance sheet by 69%, marking the beginning of the end of the gold standard in the US. In 1971 Nixon announced that the US would sever all ties between the dollar and gold and would no longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value of $35., putting an end to any remnants of a gold standard. WTF Happened in 1971 is a website that charts the economic impact and societal shift that has followed the abandonment of the gold standard. In this interview, I talk to Ben Prentice and Collin, the creators of WTFhappenedin1971.com. We discuss the gold standard, the Bretton Woods Agreement, monetary policy, inflation and hyperbitcoinisation.

Location: Zoom Date: Thursday, 9th April Project: Junseth's World Role: Host Junseth was the co-host of the hugely popular Bitcoin Uncensored, but in 2017 he and co-host Chris DeRose parted ways. One thing that made Bitcoin Uncensored both popular but also divisive was their ability to cut through the noise and call out ideas or bullshit in the crypto industry. Their interview with Perianne Boring is still one of the greatest podcasts in the world of "blockchain". There are so many topics that I have been wrestling with recently, from the politicisation and government response to the coronavirus pandemic to the very radical Bitcoin narratives offered by some of the most vocal and well known Bitcoiners. In this bonus episode, I am joined by Junseth the former co-host of Bitcoin Uncensored and host of Junseth's world. We discuss coronavirus, the politicisation of the pandemic and the economic impact, libertarianism, modern art and Bitcoin narratives.

Location: Zoom Date: Friday, 3rd April Project: Pantera Capital Role: Co-Founder & CEO Markets around the world have posted their worst quarterly results in decades with the FTSE, DJI, S&P500 and many others down over 20%. While the coronavirus pandemic is certainly the catalyst behind this drop, it may have been the pin that popped the global economy propped up by cheap credit. With the markets falling, the forced closure of businesses and unemployment at record levels, governments around the world have taken unprecedented action with their monetary and fiscal policies. With huge amounts of quantitative easing globally, this economic event again highlights the benefits of Bitcoin's monetary policy. It was created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, born out of years of cheap credit and poor government oversight. Now nearly 12 years since its creation, we are again in a time of financial crisis. So, could this crisis lead people to a non-sovereign, global, immutable, digital, decentralised, hard money? In this interview, I talk to Dan Morehead, a veteran investor and the co-founder & CEO of Pantera Capital. We discuss the effect of coronavirus on the economy, how the markets will recover, and Bitcoin's coming of age.

Location: Zoom Date: Thursday, 2nd April Project: Chainalysis Role: Co-Founder Bitcoin's strengths lie in its ability to separate money and state, censorship and seizure resistance. It is an open and permissionless network that allows anyone to interact with it. It is an entirely public network, but that doesn't mean it is anonymous. Addresses do not use personal information but created using alphanumeric characters, and addresses can be monitored to watch transactions and follow the flow of Bitcoin. Chainalysis is a controversial company, with many claiming they are antithetical to the ideals behind Bitcoin. They offer blockchain analysis software that will scan the blockchain and report on illicit or suspicious uses of Bitcoin. They provide these services to exchanges, governments and law enforcement to help tie real-world identities to Bitcoin transactions. In this interview, I talk to the co-founder of Chainalysis Jonathan Levin. We discuss whether Chainalysis is antithetical to Bitcoin, how they decide who can use the software, and if they are helping erode privacy.

Location: Zoom Date: Wednesday, 1st April Project: aantonop.com Role: Speaker, Author & Educator The coronavirus COVID-19 is an unprecedented global health crisis. There are now more than one million reported cases, the death toll continues to rise, and across the world, economies have been left decimated. The crisis is bringing to fore many questions regarding the role of the state, challenging political identity. Conservatives are considering socialist policies; Libertarians are considering state responses and socialists are considering free markets. While government responses vary, different approaches to lockdowns, surveillance and contact tracing are providing live case studies on how to handle the crisis. All these approaches question the role and the reach of the state, especially as some have seized this opportunity to implement new draconian laws. With stock markets posting their worst quarterly results in decades, central banks have slashed interest rates, offering bailouts and implementing unprecedented stimulus packages. Did Coronavirus cause these problems or highlight hidden issues? What does a post-coronavirus world look like? And what will the role of the state be? In this interview, I talk to Andreas M. Antonopoulos, speaker, best selling author and Bitcoin evangelist. We discuss whether Coronavirus is a challenge to political identity, the largest monetary experiment in history, bailouts and money printing.

Location: Skype Date: Friday, 27th March Project: Libertarian Institute Role: Founder & Director With the rapid spread of coronavirus COVID-19, governments around the world are taking drastic action to try and flatten the curve, slow the infection rate and take the strain off already struggling healthcare systems. China's authoritarian government quickly implemented strict controls, sealing people into apartments and increasing surveillance. All of which were reported as very useful, at least temporarily in slowing the spread. But, under democratic rule, how far can and should, the state go to save lives? Many governments have issued lockdowns forbidding people from leaving their homes for all but essential tasks and businesses order to close. Many of the measures are designed as temporary, but some fear that governments will be reluctant to revoke these new controls once the pandemic is over There is a direct trade-off between the encroachment on our civil liberties and saving lives, so are the strict measures worth it? And where do you draw the line? In this interview, I talk to Scott Horton, the Founder and Director of the Libertarian Institute. We discuss the ongoing coronavirus crisis, if a state is beneficial in this extreme public health crisis and how an anarchist society would deal with a pandemic.

Location: Skype Date: Thursday, 26th March Project: Real Vision Role: Co-Founder & CEO The coronavirus pandemic has led to a global economic crisis. With the movement of people heavily restricted, businesses forced to close and supply chains disrupted. Stock markets around the world have crashed, leading many to question if the restrictive measures to limit the spread of the virus are worth the economic impact. Donald Trump has stated that the "cure" cannot be worse than the "problem". To fight the recession and help those in need, most major economies, including the US, UK, Canada and Germany, have announced unprecedented economic stimulus packages to support the economy and those out of work. The severity and duration of the impact coronavirus will have on the economy is almost impossible to predict; however, this event will likely alter the world forever. In this interview, I talk to Raoul Pal co-founder & CEO of Real Vision and macroeconomist. We discuss the political and economic impact of coronavirus, the role of the state and the societal change that will occur.

Location: Skype Date: Monday, 16th March Project: CoinTracker Role: COO Nothing is certain but death and taxes, and for most people, their largest expense is not their rent, mortgage or car, it is their taxes. Most see taxes as an unavoidable fact of life, however, many Bitcoiners are also libertarians who believe taxation is theft and an infringement on their property rights. So, when I introduced a new What Bitcoin Did sponsor, Cointracker, who helps you prepare cryptocurrency tax returns, I received a few direct messages for supporting "the man". I understand that tax and Bitcoin do not necessarily go hand in hand, with tax being somewhat antithetical to Bitcoin. Bitcoin was created to separate money and state and with that taxation. Tax is not something I support or want to pay; however, I do so to avoid fines and legal retribution. In this bonus episode of What Bitcoin Did, I talk to Chandan Lodha, the COO of Cointracker. We discuss the ramifications of not filing crypto taxes, techniques to save money on your tax return and major exchanges getting subpoenaed.

Location: Skype Date: Monday, 23rd March Project: Amber Role: CEO In late January, when the Chinese City of Wuhan was placed into a government-enforced lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. All non-essential businesses were closed, travel restricted, and people could only leave their home to buy food. While the measures put in place appeared extreme, they helped to 'flatten the curve' and reduce the spread of the virus. Since then, the disease has spread rapidly throughout the rest of the world. Some governments have chosen to follow China, opting for widespread lockdowns. Italy implemented a nationwide quarantine in early March, Spain followed suit shortly after and the UK announced yesterday it was placing the country into lockdown. There are now 17 countries with lockdown measures in place. The hope is that by reducing the number of people infected, it will, in turn, lessen the strain on local healthcare systems and reduce the number of people dying from the disease. What is the cost of these draconian measures? Is it worth the impact on the economy and the erosion of civil liberties? Many Bitcoiners align themselves closely with Libertarianism and are against state intervention and therefore disagree with the restrictive measures put in place across the globe. We do though live in a democracy; if the will of the people supports these measures, then should they be supported? In this interview, I talk to Aleks Svetski, CEO at Amber and a passionate Bitcoiner. We discuss the COVID-19 coronavirus, state response to the pandemic, the economic impact and the threat to our civil liberties.

Location: Bedford Date: Tuesday, 17th March Project: Myjam Role: CEO In 2011, growing levels of unrest over lack of employment, political freedom and high levels of corruption in Syria led to a small number of pro-democracy demonstrations. Inspired by the ongoing Arab Spring revolution in nearby countries, the movement began gaining traction within Syria. The Syrian government retaliated with deadly force, leading to widespread calls for the president Bashar al-Assad to resign. Disdain for the government grew, and with it, the government's attempts at suppression intensified, escalating into a civil war that has now gripped the country for over nine years. It is no longer a case of for/against Assad as numerous groups and nations have been dragged into the conflict. The Syrian civil war is the second most deadly in the 21st century and has displaced millions. The total number of Syrian refugees is predicted to be over nine million with many heading to Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt, with many migrating through Europe. For the people of Syria, Bitcoin offers enormous advantages over cash. Within Syria, a large percentage of the population does not have access to banking services, and the Syrian Lira suffers from high inflation. For refugees, there is a risk of theft and confiscation as they make their way to new countries. Once settled, Bitcoin is also a perfect tool for remittances to their families back in Syria. In this interview, I talk to Moe Ghashim, a Syrian Bitcoiner now living in the UK. We discuss the ongoing civil war in Syria, the devastating physical and economic damage to the country, and how Bitcoin is a perfect tool to help refugees.

Location: Skype Date: Friday, 13th March Project: BHB Network Role: Director COVID-19 continues to spread around the world. 169,717 people are now infected, and the death toll stands at 6,518. The virus is highly contagious, making containment incredibly tricky. As the seriousness of the situation escalates, countries around the world are implementing strict controls on movement and contact. The COVID-19 coronavirus originated in China, where the number of cases has now risen to over 80,000. As the virus has taken hold, the Chinese Communist Party has implemented draconian measures. Despite criticism, the aggressive use of quarantine appears to have been effective in reducing the spread of infections. The number of reported daily new cases in China has dropped from almost 2,000 per day a few weeks ago, to less than 20 at the time of writing. Italy now has the highest number of cases outside of China, with over 25,000 testing positive. A nationwide lockdown is in effect, with police and soldiers enforcing the quarantine conditions, and on the 15th of March, the EU recorded the highest number of deaths in a single day so far. Giacomo Zucco is a Bitcoiner who is currently under lockdown in Italy. In this interview, he explains what life is like on lockdown, the measures that have been put in place, how he thinks the governments around the world have dealt with this pandemic and why he believes centralised planning is poorly suited for dealing with the crisis.

Location: Skype Date: Friday, 6th March Project: New project coming soon… Role: N/A Welcome to the Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin. Bitcoin can be intimidating for beginners. The protocol is complicated, the community can be aggressive and unforgiving, silly mistakes can lose you money, and it is easy to succumb to altcoin marketing. Bitcoin does though, offer you the opportunity to hold a new type of monetary asset, one which can't be seized by the government and is censorship resistance and It has the potential to change the way the world. The goal of What Bitcoin Did has always been about making things simple; there are no stupid questions, and the show is here to help beginners navigate this new world. To kick off 2020, we are launching a special series to help beginners understand Bitcoin. We will be looking at the basics from breaking down the protocol to explaining the economics and discussing the potential societal shift. Beginner's Guide Part 17- Fuck You, Bitcoin! with John Carvalho Bitcoin is not only the best version of decentralised money the world has seen; it is the best money the world has seen. It takes power away from centralised authorities and allows individuals to transact with whomever they want. With Bitcoin, nobody can confiscate your money, and the protocol has a clear set of rules that everyone on the network can see and follow. The Bitcoin protocol is robust, secure and self-governing, and with that, Bitcoin is 'fuck you' money. If a centralised powers want to seize your Bitcoin or stop payment, Bitcoin empowers individuals to say fuck you in a way that has never been seen before. Regardless of politics, economic uncertainty or almost any event imaginable, every 10 minutes Bitcoin continues to produce blocks, giving individuals the freedom to use it how they choose. In Part 17 of the Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin, I talk to John Carvalho. We discuss removing power from governments, why altcoins are a poor investment, and why Bitcoin is 'fuck you' money.

Location: Skype Date: Friday, 6th March Welcome to the Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin. Bitcoin can be intimidating for beginners. The protocol is complicated, the community can be aggressive and unforgiving, silly mistakes can lose you money, and it is easy to succumb to altcoin marketing. Bitcoin does though, offer you the opportunity to hold a new type of monetary asset, one which can't be seized by the government and is censorship resistance and It has the potential to change the way the world. The goal of What Bitcoin Did has always been about making things simple; there are no stupid questions, and the show is here to help beginners navigate this new world. To kick off 2020, we are launching a special series to help beginners understand Bitcoin. We will be looking at the basics from breaking down the protocol to explaining the economics and discussing the potential societal shift. Beginner's Guide Part 16 - The Future of Bitcoin with Jeremy Welch In just 11 years, Bitcoin has already achieved so much: The price has grown from $1 equal to 1,309.03 BTC in 2009 to $7,950 per Bitcoin (at time of writing), having peaked at $20k in 2017. Market capitalisation is nearly $150 billion, and Bitcoin is now on the radar of investors globally. A phenomenal ~ 110Exahash secures the network. Transactions are regularly well over 300k per day. Bitcoin is the most decentralised and censorship-resistant currency in the world. A lot has happened in a short space of time, but what will the future hold for Bitcoin? There are still many challenges for Bitcoin, whether that is scaling, enhancing privacy or UX and ease of use. At the moment, Bitcoin is still for the relatively tech-savvy. While Bitcoin has been met with either scepticism or fear by governments, in general, there has been little action taken to disincentive people from owning using it. If adoption continues to grow, will the world powers enforce stricter regulations? In Part 16 of the Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin I talk to Jeremy Welch to discuss the future of Bitcoin. We get into how governments and central banks will react as Bitcoin poses more of a threat, and if we will see hyperbitcoinisation.

Location: Skype Date: Saturday, 29th February Project: Castle Island Ventures Role: Partner Welcome to the Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin. Bitcoin can be intimidating for beginners. The protocol is complicated, the community can be aggressive and unforgiving, silly mistakes can lose you money, and it is easy to succumb to altcoin marketing. Bitcoin does though, offer you the opportunity to hold a new type of monetary asset, one which can't be seized by the government and is censorship resistance and It has the potential to change the way the world. The goal of What Bitcoin Did has always been about making things simple; there are no stupid questions, and the show is here to help beginners navigate this new world. To kick off 2020, we are launching a special series to help beginners understand Bitcoin. We will be looking at the basics from breaking down the protocol to explaining the economics and discussing the potential societal shift. Beginner's Guide Part 15 - Bitcoin FUD with Nic Carter Bitcoin is a peculiar beast, and as with any new technology, it takes some time to understand it and its potential impact on the world. While Bitcoin media reporting is improving, there are still lots of untruths and myths that are perpetuated by mainstream media. Further, competing projects, anti-Bitcoin proponents and the uneducated add to the confusion by repeating false accusations. Blanket statements such as "Bitcoin is only used by terrorists, criminals and money launderers" or "proof of work is wasteful and uses as much energy as X country", continue to cast a shadow over the technology. Bitcoin is still a relatively new form of digital money, the likes of which the world has never seen, as such, it is easy to be misled by outdated or poorly formed arguments. "Bitcoin isn't backed by anything" is another commonly used argument, which fails to recognise that neither is fiat currency and is printed at will, whereas Bitcoin has a fixed supply. In this interview, I am joined by Nic Carter, a partner at Castle Island Ventures, and we discuss and dispel the myths, untruths and FUD that Bitcoin faces.

Location: Skype Date: Thursday 27th Feb Project: What Bitcoin Did & Defiance Role: Host Venezuela is in the midst of a political crisis. For 20 years the country has been governed by the socialist party, led by Hugo Chavez from 1999 until his death in 2013. Following his death, Nicolás Maduro, his preferred successor, took control of the country following a much-disputed election. Under Manduro, the economy and local currency have collapsed, with extreme hyperinflation reaching unprecedented levels. The inflation rate reached 69% in 2014, and by 2018 grew to an astonishing 1,698,488%, leading to significant growth in poverty, hunger and mass migration, with millions leaving the country to find work, food and medical supplies. With the collapse of the Bolivar, many Bitcoiners, including myself, asked whether Bitcoin could help. Could Bitcoin reduce the impact of hyperinflation? Could locals mine Bitcoin at low energy costs to earn an income? I visited Venezuela to find the answers to some of these questions and asked fellow podcaster Stephan Livera to interview me about my experience. We discuss the realities of life in Venezuela and the myths and truths of Bitcoin adoption.

Location: Santiago, Chile Date: Tuesday, 4th February Project: Buda Role: Co-founder Chile was one of South America's richest and most politically stable countries, but recent political unrest has led to daily violent protests. These protests are considered the worst in Chile's history and were sparked by a rise in the Santiago Metro's subway fare. This was seen as another attack on the working class and highlighted the inequalities prevalent in the system. Since the protests began on October 7th there have been a reported 29 deaths, 2,500 injuries and over 2,800 arrests. In this interview, I talk to Guillermo Torrealba the Co-founder and CEO of Buda, a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange that operates in Chile, Argentina, Colombia & Peru. We discuss the ongoing political crisis in Chile, Bitcoin and climate change.

Location: Skype Date: Tuesday, 25th February Project: What Bitcoin Did & Defiance Role: Host Welcome to the Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin. Bitcoin can be intimidating for beginners. The protocol is complicated, the community can be aggressive and unforgiving, silly mistakes can lose you money, and it is easy to succumb to altcoin marketing. Bitcoin does though, offer you the opportunity to hold a new type of monetary asset, one which can't be seized by the government and is censorship resistance and It has the potential to change the way the world. The goal of What Bitcoin Did has always been about making things simple; there are no stupid questions, and the show is here to help beginners navigate this new world. To kick off 2020, we are launching a special series to help beginners understand Bitcoin. We will be looking at the basics from breaking down the protocol to explaining the economics and discussing the potential societal shift. Beginner's Guide Part 14 - Bitcoin Things You Need to Know with Peter McCormack The Bitcoin Beginner's Guide is all about breaking down the complexities of Bitcoin and making them as simple as possible to understand. In the series, we've explored everything from why we need Bitcoin, the economics, the protocol and even privacy, but, what have we learned? As a breakaway from the regular show structure, I decided to put myself in the hot seat and answer questions about Bitcoin. I wanted to challenge myself, see how much I have learned, and whether I can explain these complicated subjects accurately. With the help of my producer Danny, we break down the key takeaways from the Beginner's Guide series. We discuss Satoshi and the whitepaper, the 21 million hard cap, block rewards and size, mining, running a node and privacy.