Bitcoin Basics in 37 Minutes
Yes, you can.
Learning Bitcoin is hard they said…
In reality you can learn the basics of Bitcoin from its philosophical roots to how new Bitcoin is created, in under 37 minutes…buckle up!
The Philosophy - The Sovereign Individual (13 minutes)
The most important video you can watch to understand the current economic and historical cycle. The bright orange life boat.
What is Bitcoin and why does it Matter? (10 minutes)
A summary - watch the full video below
Why Bitcoin?
A new technology born 2009
Most people don’t grasp its significance and like the telephone, automobile and internet it is often ridiculed
Bitcoin is an idea whose time has come
Those who educate themselves will be rewarded
What is Bitcoin?
Money
Medium of Exchange - allows for seamless exchange between buyers and sellers
Unit of Account - Fungible, meaning you don’t have to do currency conversions to price something
Store of Value - Allows you to store the fruits of your labour for future use
Scarcity is key
Old monetary tech such as rai stones and glass beads were no match for technology
Once you can mass produce a form of money its value plummets
Gold is hard to produce, requiring lots of energy and therefore has a low rate of new supply and corresponding inflation
Gold became a good system of money as it held its value well
To make transportation more convenient paper money was issued against gold reserves
1944 Bretton Woods
USD became the world reserve currency
Other currencies were pegged to USD
USD was backed by gold
1971 Nixon ended the US dollars convertibility to gold
Since 1971 the world has been using an experimental system of money ‘fiat’ which is backed by nothing of value, but is ‘decreed’ by a central authority to be money
Over the past 100 years, the USD has lost 93% of its value
Bitcoin is Born
October 2008 - Bitcoin White Paper is Published
3rd January 2009 the first Bitcoin is mined ‘Genesis Block’
The first digital hard money was born
Benefits
A common, global medium of exchange removes barriers to trade
31% of the world is currently unbanked and Bitcoin fixes this
Scarcity restored - Bitcoin’s supply cannot be inflated (capped at 21 million BTC)
Never before in the history of civilisation has a money offered more potential for both the sovereignty of the individual and for the advancement of the economy than Bitcoin.
What is Bitcoin Mining? (12 minutes)
What is Bitcoin mining?
Why is it necessary?
Who are the Bitcoin miners?
Economic considerations
Environmental considerations
Regulations globally
Bitcoin Mining and Emissions (2 minutes)
With Kristine Cranley from the Texas Blockchain Council