371: Bitcoin: Investing Fad or Final Bullet to Fiat Currency?

Asking for Bitcoin explained is like asking how a rocket works; it's a little complex. A digital currency is valued at a certain amount of dollars (or euros, yen, etc.) and is used to pay for goods or exchange for other currencies. That makes sense. But things can get complicated as we go deeper into Bitcoin and the blockchain. There's no need to get overwhelmed; we brought Saifedean Ammous, economist and author of The Bitcoin Standard, onto the show to explain.

Saifedean, like many investors, was skeptical of Bitcoin at first. He thought it was merely a fad that would pass away in a few years. But, after researching the history of money, the rise and fall of fiat currencies, and the standard that Bitcoin was built on, Saifedean changed his tone. Now, he's a huge proponent of this new "digital gold" and has spent years of his life warning others of fiat currency's faults and the opportunity behind Bitcoin itself.

In today's episode, Saifedean explains what Bitcoin is, how it works, why the blockchain is needed, and why saving money isn't enough in today's fiat inflationary environment. You'll also hear why "hard money" like Bitcoin beats "easy money" like the American dollar and why the latest cryptocurrency crash isn't as bad as mainstream economists think. So if you've thought of snagging a bit of Bitcoin, this is the best place to start.

In This Episode We Cover

The history of money, fiat currencies, why rare, hard money is always the most safe

The dangers of easy money, debasing currency, and the fallacy of required inflation

How Bitcoin solves the fiat problem and why it can never be inflated or over-printed

The blockchain explained and why it works for Bitcoin and not other applications like real estate

Cryptocurrency's latest crash and why fluctuating Bitcoin prices are more typical than they seem

Whether to bet on businesses, real estate, Bitcoin, or all three when investing

And So Much More!

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Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-371

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