Why We Need Bitcoin | Andreas M. Antonopoulos
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Why We Need Bitcoin | Andreas M. Antonopoulos
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Location: Skype
Date: Monday 11th Nov
Role: Author & Public Speaker
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.
The real reason Bitcoin is essential is for all of these reasons and more.
On 3rd January 2009, Bitcoin was introduced to the world by its pseudonymous creator (or creators), going by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin brought with it an alternative to the banking system, a way of truly controlling your finances and 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.
Cross-border payments are expensive and complicated using traditional banking and financial systems, and that's assuming the recipient has the means to receive payment. Bitcoin fixes this.
Governments have a history of putting pressure on payment systems to stop allowing payments to recipients that they deem unfit. 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.
So, maybe we will have to choose whether its Bitcoin or a state-run digital currency. Should we choose Bitcoin?
In this interview, I talk to Andreas M. Antonopoulos to find out. Andreas is a speaker and the best selling author of Mastering Bitcoin and The Internet of Money and is unrivalled in evangelising Bitcoin. Andreas explains why the current monetary and financial system is no longer fit for purpose and why Bitcoin may be the answer.
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00:00 - Show intro
02:02 - Welcoming Andreas to the show
02:19 - Why we need Bitcoin
06:00 - How to encouraged people to take Bitcoin more seriously
07:57 - Financial privacy and why it’s important
13:42 - Financial surveillance
22:29 - WikiLeaks and financial censorship
31:44 - Central banks and monetary policy
39:22 - Will Bitcoin be a ‘safe-haven’ asset in global recession
44:27 - Hyperbitcoinisation
49:34 - Why people should care about Bitcoin
Connect with Andreas:
More of Andreas’ work:
YouTube: Escaping the Global Banking Cartel
YouTube: Why Bitcoin is 'The Next Bitcoin'
YouTube: Universal Access to Basic Finance
Mentioned in the show:
The World Bank: 1.7 billion adults unbanked
The Guardian: Catalan protesters in Barcelona
Quartz: Why Hong Kong’s protesters were afraid to use their metro cards
New York Times: Inside China’s Dystopian Dreams: A.I., Shame and Lots of Cameras
Associated Press: Chinese snooping tech spreads to nations vulnerable to abuse
BBC: Extinction Rebellion: High Court rules London protest ban unlawful
Reuters: Leaked U.S. video shows deaths of Reuters' Iraqi staffers
New York Times: Assange Indicted Under Espionage Act, Raising First Amendment Issues
Wikipedia: WikiLeaks
Wikipedia: Operation Choke Point
Investopedia: The 2008 Financial Crisis Reviewed
The Guardian: The cashless society is a con – and big finance is behind it
THANK YOU TO MY SPONSOR
Kraken - the best place to buy, sell or trade Bitcoin.