What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack
Business:Investing
“Even if you come in with normie assumptions about economics and normie assumptions about politics and normie assumptions about the world, I think you can come up with a really really powerful bull case for Bitcoin… There’s so many good reasons to believe that this is going to be, maybe over time, the most important monetary asset in human history.”
— Mike Brock
Mike Brock is the lead at TBD, the Bitcoin-focused subsidiary of Block. In this interview, we discuss Bitcoin’s limitations in solving complex societal problems, counter-arguments to the narrative that monetary flexibility leads to falling living standards and wasteful investments, the complexities and risks of Bitcoin’s widespread adoption, and why, despite certain limitations, Bitcoin still has the potential to be the most important monetary asset in human history.
- - - -
The Bitcoin community has had to harden itself against attacks from outside, by those either too ignorant or too invested in the incumbent system to allow themselves to understand the brilliance of the innovation. However, not all of those who raise issues counter to mainstream Bitcoin opinion are either attacking the innovation or the community. Some opinions are manifestly good faith attempts to sharpen the arguments needed to help wider Bitcoin adoption.
Mike Brock is someone who sits in this camp: he is an unapologetic advocate for Bitcoin but doesn’t necessarily agree with what could be framed as Bitcoin orthodoxy. In this podcast, we discuss in more detail the concerns around groupthink on certain issues, which is in turn leading to a branding issue that seems to be affecting wider adoption.
Specifically, is there a misconception in the Bitcoin community that Bitcoin has already won and will replace the US dollar? Has loose monetary policy since 1971 actually resulted in reduced living standards and significantly poor corporate investment behaviour? Are inflationary metrics providing a real understanding of consumer experiences? And, will a strict monetary policy have a net positive or negative influence on economies and societies?
Consideration of the arguments for and against deflationary or inflationary currencies enables Bitcoin’s true potential to be honed. However, even if Bitcoin has a long way to go before challenging the dominance of the US dollar, it has the potential to immediately help lift millions of people out of poverty by providing open, effective and cheap financial infrastructure. This means Bitcoin has a compelling narrative even within mainstream economic and political assumptions.
- - - -
This episode’s sponsors:
Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably
Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is here
Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware wallet
Wasabi Wallet - Privacy by default
Unchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidence
Orange Pill App - Stack friends who stack sats
-----
WBD717 - Show Notes
-----
If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:
Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute
Make a tip:
Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2S
QR Codes: Bitcoin
If you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank you
Subscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS Feed
Leave a review on iTunes
Share the show and episodes with your friends and family
Subscribe to the newsletter on my website
Follow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTube
If you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.
Is Bitcoin Warfare? With Jason Lowery
10 Rules for Life with Michael Saylor
1000 Years of Inflation with Rune Østgård
How Fedimint Scales Bitcoin with Obi Nwosu
A Philosophical Case for Bitcoin with Bradley Rettler
Busting the GBTC Trust with David Bailey
Gold, Bitcoin & Inflation with Lawrence Lepard
Escaping Hyperinflation in a Rolls Royce with Freddie New
WBD Live in Bedford with Jeff Booth, James Lavish, Lawrence Lepard & Ben Arc
Why Deflation is the Key to Abundance with Jeff Booth
Recession is Coming with James Lavish
The Regulatory Threat to Bitcoin with Jason Brett
The Truth About Bitcoin Mining with Lane Rettig
Scaling Bitcoin Privacy with Calle
The Sovereign Debt Bubble with Luke Gromen
The Failure of Central Banking with Matthew Mežinskis
Bitcoin’s Wall’d Garden with Eric Wall
The Corruption of Power & Influence with Ahmed Gatnash
The Failure of Government Economic Policy with Dan Tubb
The Decentralisation of Bitcoin Mining with Braiins
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
U.S Property Podcast
Aligned Money Show
Dubai Property Podcast
The Ramsey Show
The Clark Howard Podcast