BWJ 026: Judging Jekyll Island; Geopolitical Finance Insights; Bitcoin Banking Innovation.
This week: When are you well and truly down the proverbial rabbit hole? What does it mean when China purchases oil in yuan from Saudi Arabia? Why can we be excited about the future of Banking?
Judging Jekyll Island
When are you well and truly down the proverbial rabbit hole?
“The Creature From Jekyll Island”, by G Edward Griffin, has officially blown my mind..! A beast of a book, openly asking critical questions of our status quo, with revelation after revelation packed within; this is a world-view altering experience.
Kicking off with a story about the founding of the Federal Reserve, which is quite rightly described as a “banking cartel”, the scene was set for a myth-busting journey through monetary history. Time and time again, the reader is shown how fallible man is to the whims of self-interest, and that our monetary system has been manipulated by those in positions of power.
The cosy friendship between monetary and political scientists evident within, clearly still exists today, and for my typifies why the concept “all roads lead to Bitcoin” is so important. It’s impossible to do justice to this wonderful piece of work in just a few sentences, however on completion rest assured one is deep down the Bitcoin rabbit hole, and if there was a single takeaway: question everything…
Geopolitical Finance Insights
What does it mean when China purchases oil in yuan from Saudi Arabia?
Are we witnessing the collapse of the petrodollar system? What happens when central bank FX reserves are seized? How will the world look going forward? These are all very reasonable questions to be asking right now, for which there is no precise answer, however I have more clarity after listening to this conversation with Grant Williams and Luke Gromen.
Large nation states are jostling for power, sparring over resources, and renegotiating long-held positions of authority in energy and finance. As a Bitcoiner, I think the answer to so many of these problems is of course Bitcoin adoption, but it’s important to be realistic and acknowledge we just aren’t there yet.
Yes “Bitcoin fixes this” in relation to a neutral reserve asset, an international payment network, and an obvious peg to energy pricing, but it’s simply not entertained by senior leadership of nation states. One thing is for certain, we’re in a transition phase, with a volatile time ahead; buckle up!
Bitcoin Banking Innovation
Why can we be excited about the future of Banking?
As readers of this newsletter, you will know that I am a big fan of entrepreneurs building on top of Bitcoin, and what Bill Barhydt is doing at Abra is no different. His conversation with Peter McCormack was packed with insights, left me more bullish than ever, and is another prime example of the value Bitcoin is already delivering to people.
Excitingly we’re witnessing a new type of business model emerge, under-pinned by the deflationary characteristic of Bitcoin, and enabling superior financial products to be created. As more people flock to the space, we can expect the pace of innovation to increase, an exciting prospect for founder and consumer alike.
Of particular note was the discussion around mortgage’s, which is not only a traditional market ripe for disruption, but notoriously unfriendly to those with digital assets. Being able to leverage my digital assets, to purchase physical real estate with fiat loans, is for certain part of my long-term investment strategy.
We’re So Bloody Early
This week the boys chatted with Natalie Brunell!