Philosophy & Economics
What money is, why scarcity matters, and how Bitcoin aligns incentives.
Bitcoin's M.V.P.
- Money solves barter problems (coincidence of wants).
- Good money is scarce, durable, portable, divisible, and verifiable.
- Rules without rulers: property rights by math.
Core Economics
- Scarcity: fixed supply (21M) resists inflation.
- Incentives: miners secure blocks; users verify.
- Time preference: sound money encourages saving and long-term thinking. This is arguably the most important economic concept for understanding why Bitcoin matters.
→ Deep Dive: Time Preference Fundamentals
🏦 Money & Banking
Before you can understand why Bitcoin matters, you need to see how the current monetary system actually works.
- Money Creation: How central banks and commercial banks create money from nothing
- Fractional Reserve: How your $100 deposit becomes $1,000 in loans—and the risks
- Fed Policy: Interest rates, QE, and the tools of monetary manipulation
- Bank Runs: What happens when the music stops (see: SVB 2023)
🏛️ Austrian Economics & Bitcoin
The Austrian School of Economics (Mises, Hayek, Rothbard) provides the theoretical foundation for understanding Bitcoin's revolutionary design.
- Time Preference: How the type of money shapes civilization's time horizon
- Sound Money Theory: What makes money "hard" and why it matters
- Economic Calculation: Why decentralized systems outperform central planning
- Praxeology: The science of human action and voluntary exchange
Ethics & Sovereignty
- Censorship resistance: no central switch.
- Custody: hold your own keys; no permission required.
- Open access: anyone can join and verify.