The Bitcoin Standard Podcast

40 Episodes
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By: Dr. Saifedean Ammous

Saifedean's The Bitcoin Standard Podcast is the place to discuss Bitcoin and economics from the Austrian school's perspective. Listen to the weekly saifedean.com discussion seminar, where a group of learners from all over the world discuss the website's online courses, as well as a wide variety of economic, political, and social issues, and occasionally host special guests for the discussion. The podcast also includes the most interesting interviews conducted with Saifedean on other shows.

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351. What Is Money? Debating MMTers
351. What Is Money? Debating MMTers episode artwork
Today at 7:00 AM

The Doha Debates hosts Saifedean to debate the nature of money with two MMT economists, Jackson Hickle and Pavlina Tcherneva.

Many thanks to the Doha Debates for hosting this great discussion, and I strongly recommend you check out their Youtube channel for many interesting debates.

https://www.youtube.com/dohadebates
Dohadebates.com

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350. The Bitcoin Standard Course - Lecture 3: Primitive Moneys
350. The Bitcoin Standard Course - Lecture 3: Primitive Moneys episode artwork
11/03/2026

Lecture 3 in The Bitcoin Standard explains how primitive moneys gained and lost their value, why difficulty of production was essential to their monetary role & how the stories of Rai stones, glass beads & seashells illustrate the dangers of easy money.

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349. The Gold Standard - Presented at the Property & Freedom Society
349. The Gold Standard - Presented at the Property & Freedom Society episode artwork
10/27/2026

At the Property & Freedom Society, Saifedean presents his latest book, The Gold Standard, an alternative history of the 20th century where hard money ended WWI, made governments compete for citizens & enabled free trade & self-determination.

Sponsors:

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The Saif House - High quality cloth hardcover bitcoin books by Saifedean & more delivered worldwide, with 10% off for paying in bi...


348. The Bitcoin Standard Course - Lecture 2: Money
348. The Bitcoin Standard Course - Lecture 2: Money episode artwork
10/20/2026

Lecture 2 in The Bitcoin Standard explains the problem money solves, how the solution shapes the desirable properties of money: salability across scales, space & time; why the latter property, expressed through hardness, is the critical feature of money & how it can be measured.

Join the live discussion seminar on Twitter/X Spaces on Tuesday October 27 at 2pm GMT. Follow @saifedean on Twitter to be sure to join.

BitGo: Institutional custody, now available to every Bitcoiner. Sign up on https://www.bitgo.com/saif/

CrowdHealth: The Bitcoiner’s answer to fiat health insurance. Get your fi...


347. The Bitcoin Standard Course - Launch Lecture
347. The Bitcoin Standard Course - Launch Lecture episode artwork
10/13/2026

Starting this week, Saifedean will be sharing a new online course on The Bitcoin Standard, revisiting the book almost 10 years on. This first lecture covers the prologue: how Bitcoin started, how it gained value, and why it is digital cash and digital hard money.

BitGo: Institutional custody, now available to every Bitcoiner. Sign up on https://www.bitgo.com/saif/

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346. The Bitcoin Standard 2018 Launch
346. The Bitcoin Standard 2018 Launch episode artwork
10/06/2026

Throwback to Saifedean's 2018 launch of The Bitcoin Standard with his first book talk, held in Vienna, fittingly enough!

BitGo: Institutional custody, now available to every Bitcoiner. Sign up on https://www.bitgo.com/saif/


345. Bitcoin, Mining, and Stablecoins
345. Bitcoin, Mining, and Stablecoins episode artwork
09/29/2026

Saifedean is hosted by Bitcoin Magazine TV to discuss his recent work on Bitcoin mining and stablecoins, as well as the US fiscal outlook.

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344. Can Stablecoins Save the Dollar?
344. Can Stablecoins Save the Dollar? episode artwork
09/22/2026

Saifedean examines whether growing stablecoin demand can reduce price inflation & help US fiscal solvency. He focuses on often-overlooked trade-offs: lost seigniorage, displaced long-term Treasury demand & bank credit, & more fragile short-term funding & rollover risk.

Marina Azzimonti and Vincenzo Quadrini — Digital Assets and the Exorbitant Dollar Privilege

 Marina Azzimonti and Vincenzo Quadrini — Digital Economy, Stablecoins, and the Global Financial System

 Stephen Miran — A Global Stablecoin Glut: Implications for Monetary Policy

 Rashad Ahmed and Iñaki Aldasoro — Stablecoins and Safe Asset Prices

 Congressional Budget Office — How Changes in Economic Conditions Might Affect the Federal Bud...


343. Bitcoin Electricity Consumption May Have Peaked
343. Bitcoin Electricity Consumption May Have Peaked episode artwork
09/15/2026

Saifedean argues bitcoin mining electricity consumption and capital expenditure may have peaked, and presents the argument as a testable hypothesis, and discusses the long-term implications for bitcoin, mining, and AI.

Full Article:

https://saifedean.substack.com/p/bitcoin-electricity-consumption-may
https://x.com/saifedean/status/2099782818138128866

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342. Hardware Wallets: Security or Liability
342. Hardware Wallets: Security or Liability episode artwork
09/08/2026

Saifedean hosts a debate between JW Weatherman and Giacomo Zucco on whether hardware wallets are a security liability. They discuss the Cold Card entropy backdoor, multi-vendor multisig, the code review process in Bitcoin Core, using generic laptops, and how to think about your threat model.

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Learn more: https://yeticold.com/

Follow Giacomo Z...


341. Bitcoin Custody with Ben Westgate & BTC Pavao
341. Bitcoin Custody with Ben Westgate & BTC Pavao episode artwork
09/01/2026

Saifedean talks to Ben Westgate and @BtCPavao about how to store bitcoin safely with Bitcoin Core and an old laptop, generating and backing up keys, the problems with BIP39 seed phrases, when multisig makes sense, custodians, and why gambling and lending destroy stacks.



340. Fiat, gold & bitcoin: Interview with Mark Moss.
340. Fiat, gold & bitcoin: Interview with Mark Moss. episode artwork
08/25/2026

Saifedean joins Mark Moss to discuss how fiat money and central banking are destroying people's ability to build wealth, why Bitcoin beats gold as a store of value, the recent Cold Card hack, self-custody, and whether borrowing to buy Bitcoin is a smart strategy.


339. DIY Bitcoin with HAC
339. DIY Bitcoin with HAC episode artwork
08/18/2026

Bitcoiner HAC invites us to rethink Bitcoin hardware from scratch. What does a signing device actually do and can you do it yourself? He makes the case for why DIY Bitcoin with generic hardware is better than specialized Bitcoin hardware.

Twitter: https://x.com/heavilyarmedc
Yeticold: https://yeticold.com/
Mentioned GitHub: https://github.com/bowlarbear/yeti-2.0
WTF Happened in 1971: https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/


338. How Gold Could Have Gone Global - The Gold Standard Audiobook, Chapter 9
338. How Gold Could Have Gone Global - The Gold Standard Audiobook, Chapter 9 episode artwork
08/11/2026

Saifedean reads Chapter 9 of his latest book, The Gold Standard, in which the world gets a decentralized and censorship-resistant international gold clearance system that changes the course of history! You can buy the full audiobook on Audible or saifedean.com, and get your physical copies from Amazon or saifedean.com


337. ColdCard Hack & Seedsigner with Seed
337. ColdCard Hack & Seedsigner with Seed episode artwork
08/04/2026

Founder of the Seedsigner open source project joins us to discuss the Coldcard hack, how the Seedsigner works, and the advantages of open source solutions.

Seedsigner website: https://seedsigner.com/

Twitter profile of Seed Signer: @seedsigner

Twitter profile of Seed: @sesi_the_man

Twitter profiles of other key contributors: @KeithMukai @newtonick @easyuxd


IMPORTANT ColdCard SECURITY UPDATE
IMPORTANT ColdCard SECURITY UPDATE episode artwork
08/02/2026

Important security update for anyone using a COLDCARD.

There has been a serious vulnerability disclosed involving the randomness used by some COLDCARD devices when generating Bitcoin seeds.

If you use a COLDCARD, I recommend moving your bitcoin to a completely new seed generated somewhere else. If you use another wallet today but you generated the seeds on a coldcard, you should also move your bitcoin.

First, an important reassurance: if you followed best practices and generated your own seed using at least 50 fair, independent, private dice rolls, you are not considered at risk...


336. Rothbard at 100 Conference: Talks by Ammous, Hoppe, Kinsella & de Mombynes
336. Rothbard at 100 Conference: Talks by Ammous, Hoppe, Kinsella & de Mombynes episode artwork
07/28/2026

Description: Four talks from Rothbard's centenary celebration last month in Porto:

Ammous: Rothbard on Palestine

Hoppe: Hurdles, Obstacles, and Surprises on the Road to Rothbardianism

Kinsella: Rothbard's Greatest Hits

De Mombynes: Rothbard & Bitcoin

The accompanying book, Rothbard at 100, is available from TheSaifHouse.com


335. Bitcoin & the Surveillance State with Cory Klippsten
335. Bitcoin & the Surveillance State with Cory Klippsten episode artwork
07/21/2026

Cory Klippsten, founder and CEO of Swan, joins us to discuss the accelerating surveillance state, why bitcoin is the alternative to the left and right, and why stablecoins, gold, and CBDCs don't threaten Bitcoin.


Swan - Your Partner for Generational Wealth - https://swan.com/saif


334. Principles of Economics Lecture 18: Civilization
334. Principles of Economics Lecture 18: Civilization episode artwork
07/14/2026

The final lecture of Principles of Economics makes the case for civilization, how it emerges when reason restrains instinct & lowers time preference, enabling capital accumulation & division of labor, increasing peace & prosperity over generations, & how it can collapse.

Get all course notes and slides on https://saifedean.com/poecourse



333. The Fiat Trap with Nicolas Cary
333. The Fiat Trap with Nicolas Cary episode artwork
07/07/2026

Saifedean joins Nick Carey to discuss money as a civilizational force: why mainstream economics has an inflation blind spot, how banks "mine" fiat through credit creation, why the rich hold negative fiat balances to acquire hard assets, and how inflation funds war, corrodes morality, and raises time preference.


332. Principles of Economics Lecture 17: Defense
332. Principles of Economics Lecture 17: Defense episode artwork
06/30/2026

Lecture 17 of Principles of Economics explores the economics of defense as a market good rather than a uniquely governmental function, how law and order emerge through voluntary provision, the failure modes inherent of the state's monopoly over defense & law, and what a free market in defense would look like.

Get all course notes and slides on https://saifedean.com/poecourse


331. Palestine, Israel & Property Rights - Interview with Mario Nawfal
331. Palestine, Israel & Property Rights - Interview with Mario Nawfal episode artwork
06/23/2026

In this interview with Mario Nawfal, Saifedean presents the Misesian case against Israel, and argues the only way to understand the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is that it is the result of the denial of property rights for Palestinians based purely on their not belonging to the ruling ethnoreligious group.

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330. Rothbard At 100 - A Tribute And Assessment
330. Rothbard At 100 - A Tribute And Assessment episode artwork
06/16/2026

Hans-Hermann Hoppe and Stephan Kinsella read the preface, introduction, and first chapter of Rothbard at 100: A Tribute and Assessment, published by The Saif House, July 2026. Preorder your copy now, and join us for the Rothbard At 100 conference in Porto on June 27. Details are on rothbard100.pt


329. Principles of Economics Lecture 16: Violence
329. Principles of Economics Lecture 16: Violence episode artwork
06/09/2026

16th lecture of Principles of Economics explores the economics of violence in both its private and governmental forms, the non-aggression principle as the foundation of peaceful cooperation, how government coercion differs from market exchange, and the rationales offered to justify state violence.

Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse

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328. Property Rights: The Root Cause of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
328. Property Rights: The Root Cause of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict episode artwork
06/02/2026

Saifedean presents the Misesian case against Israel, and argues the only way to understand the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is that it is the result of the denial of property rights for Palestinians based purely on their not belonging to the ruling ethnoreligious group.

Full Article: https://saifedean.substack.com/p/property-rights-the-root-cause-of
Article on X: https://x.com/saifedean/status/1987845360484520258


327. Principles of Economics Lecture 15: Monetary Expansion
327. Principles of Economics Lecture 15: Monetary Expansion episode artwork
05/26/2026

15th lecture of Principles of Economics explores monetary expansion as the issuance of credit unbacked by savings, how it distorts interest rates and misallocates capital, why this generates the business cycle, Mises' money typology & how central banks are central planners of capital markets.

Get all course notes and slides on https://saifedean.com/poecourse


326. On Milei and Rothbard
326. On Milei and Rothbard episode artwork
05/19/2026

Saifedean reads the text of his new article on Argentina's Javier Milei experiment, and also reads the text of his tribute to Murray Rothbard, to be published in Rothbard At 100: A Tribute and Assessment, a collection of essays edited by Hans-Hermann Hoppe and Stephan Kinsella celebrating Rothbard's centenary, available for preorder now from The Saif House

Rothbard at 100: Hardcover – Preorder: https://academy.saifedean.com/product/rothbard-at-100-hardcover/


325. Principles of Economics Lecture 14: Credit and Banking
325. Principles of Economics Lecture 14: Credit and Banking episode artwork
05/12/2026

Fourteenth lecture of Principles of Economics explores credit and banking as the institutions that channel savings into investment, how commodity credit emerges from real savings, while circulation credit comes from money creation, why interest rates reflect time preference, and whether interest can be eliminated with hard money.

Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse


324. Apolar Money: Lecture at the Global Economy & Finance Conference in Seoul
324. Apolar Money: Lecture at the Global Economy & Finance Conference in Seoul episode artwork
05/05/2026

Saifedean makes the case for bitcoin as apolar money, the only workable alternative to a government global reserve currency and a unipolar world order, and how geopolitical developments underscore this role. 


323. Principles of Economics Lecture 13: Time Preference
323. Principles of Economics Lecture 13: Time Preference episode artwork
04/28/2026

Thirteenth lecture of Principles of Economics explores time preference as the rate at which individuals discount the future, how property rights and hard money reduce uncertainty and lower time preference, enabling saving and investment, and why the progressive lowering of time preference is the driving force behind capital accumulation and the process of civilization.

Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse


322. Principles of Economics Lecture 12: Capitalism
322. Principles of Economics Lecture 12: Capitalism episode artwork
04/21/2026

Twelfth lecture of Principles of Economics explores capitalism as the system of private ownership of capital goods, how free capital markets allocate resources to their most productive uses through profit and loss, why economic calculation requires private property, and why socialism fails without it.

Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse

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321. Principles of Economics Lecture 11: Markets
321. Principles of Economics Lecture 11: Markets episode artwork
04/14/2026

Eleventh lecture of Principles of Economics explains how individual preferences coordinate production and consumption decisions through economic calculation based on property rights, and why consumer sovereignty drives entrepreneurial decisions in the market order.


Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse


320. Principles of Economics Lecture 10: Money
320. Principles of Economics Lecture 10: Money episode artwork
04/07/2026

Tenth lecture of Principles of Economics explores money as the most salable good, how it emerges from trade, solves the coincidence-of-wants problem, enables calculation and specialization, preserves value across time, and why hardness matters more than quantity.

Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse


319. Escalating from Suez to Waterloo
319. Escalating from Suez to Waterloo episode artwork
03/31/2026

Trump’s Three-Card-Monte Takes on the Chess Grandmasters 

This is a full reading of Saifedean's article analyzing one month of the Iran War and its likely political and economic consequences.

https://x.com/saifedean/status/2038250120890769859

https://saifedean.substack.com/p/escalating-from-suez-to-waterloo


318. Principles of Economics Lecture 9: Trade
318. Principles of Economics Lecture 9: Trade episode artwork
03/24/2026

Ninth lecture of Principles of Economics explores trade as voluntary exchange that benefits all parties, explaining subjective valuation, absolute and comparative advantage, and how specialization and the division of labor raise productivity, cooperation, and civilization.

Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse


317. Principles of Economics Lecture 8: Energy and Power
317. Principles of Economics Lecture 8: Energy and Power episode artwork
03/17/2026

Eighth lecture of Principles of Economics examines energy and power as essential drivers of production, showing how abundant energy, especially hydrocarbons, raises productivity, expands trade and living standards, and helps explain prosperity, freedom, and the decline of slavery.

Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse


316. Principles of Economics Lecture 7: Technology
316. Principles of Economics Lecture 7: Technology episode artwork
03/10/2026

Seventh lecture of Principles of Economics explores technology as non-scarce knowledge that raises productivity and drives long-term growth, explaining why innovation creates new work instead of destroying it, and examining the economic arguments surrounding intellectual property.

Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse


315. Principles of Economics Lecture 6: Capital
315. Principles of Economics Lecture 6: Capital episode artwork
03/03/2026

Sixth lecture of Principles of Economics explores capital as saved resources that lengthen production to raise productivity, showing how time preference governs saving and interest, why capital is costly and fragile (depreciation, risk, destruction), and how capital accumulation drives higher living standards.

Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse


314. Principles of Economics Lecture 5: Property
314. Principles of Economics Lecture 5: Property episode artwork
02/24/2026

Fifth lecture of Principles of Economics explains property as the only workable solution to the problem of scarcity, how ownership prevents conflict, the logic of self-ownership, and how secure property rights enable saving, capital formation, peaceful cooperation & civilizational advance.

Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse


313. Principles of Economics Lecture 4: Labor
313. Principles of Economics Lecture 4: Labor episode artwork
02/17/2026

Fourth lecture of Principles of Economics explores labor as the sacrifice of leisure for future gain, explaining disutility, production and productivity, how wages reflect marginal output, why work never disappears, and how voluntary labor and capital raise the value of human time.

Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse