“Change money? Change money? Dollar? Marks?”

 “Change money? Change money? Dollar? Marks?” This phrase still haunts me when I am in certain places in Poland. These persistent pleas of individuals with hopes to unload the local currency for a more value stable one.[1] Every Westerner knew these cries, as the hard currency they had could buy their way out of any challenging situation.[2] The long lines of people waiting in line in anticipation of acquiring a long-awaited commodity they do not need, were another standard feature of the highly controlled market system. The long lines due to government control of production caused every item regardless of individual need to have an elevated value. Every product was a means of direct exchange of that item,[3] which was necessary because the money in their pocket no longer retained its value. Meanwhile, those hard currencies were the golden ticket to a more secure future, and imported products, such as Levis, Coke, electronics that could be purchase at the dollar store. These are very real imagines in my mind of a person’s desperate attempt to gain some control over the economic world around them. My longitudinal observations of Polish friends attest to the stifling of the human spirit that “government(s) can cause…by controlling monetary policy.” [4]

The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking,[5] by Saifedean Ammous surprised me with its systematic and historical “discussion of sound money,”[6]while introducing the possibilities of “cryptoeconomics.”[7] Ammous’ clear explanation of the “benefits derived from an economy that grows in a rational and sustainable way.”[8] Dr. Ammous uses his engineering and economic background to lay the foundation for the need of an independent currency that is “without inflation or the negative consequences of the nationalization and politicization of fiduciary money.”[9] He also points out why, in his opinion, the Keynesian economics is deeply flawed.[10] Although, it is the preferred theory of universities and governments, it neglects to consider human behavior while in times of scarcity.[11] Individuals who have options will find a way to overcome the scarcity they encounter if the system does not get in their way. He argues that a free market exchange of goods within a stable monetary system is necessary to produces the futile ground for healthy investments, entrepreneurship, and personal control of one’s financial future.[12] Ammous sees Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency with the greatest potential for being an “international decentralized liquidity network based on sound money principles” [13] that can compete with the centralize banking systems of the nations.

This book definitely gave me a crash course in economics that made sense to me. However, the high risk and uncertainty of Bitcoin have not convinced me to jump into that pond yet. Overall, there are a number of questions this book has stirred in me:

·       Given the high global inflation that many nations are experiencing as a result of Covid 19 measures, economic recovery plans, fuel shortages, and war in Ukraine are we looking at another great depression?

·       Today, I wonder if there is really a hard currency anywhere.

·       Is it really possible to have an independent currency or will the government just step in anyway?

·       Have we been too eager to replace God’s gracious provision that requires faith in the unknown, for a quick fix of a powerful, self-serving government?

·       Is Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies really hack free?

There is a lot to wrestle with in terms of governmental controls in finance and personal independent control. I have seen how extreme government control of economics snuffs the life out of the eyes of individuals. I have watched the same individual gain new life through a free market system with an ever-stabilizing currency become creative entrepreneurs.

Above are pictured the following from left to right: A Polish visa requiring the mandatory exchange of $15/ day. Keep in mind there were no products to purchase with that amount of money. Also, foreigners were not allowed to take any of the excess funds out of the country. The second picture is a coupon for 5 liters of fuel that only foreigners could purchase. The third image is a postage stamp exhibiting the inflated price. After the fall of Communism Poland adjusted the currency by dropping 4 decimal points.

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[1] Saifedean Ammous, The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking (Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, 2018), 57.

[2] Ibid., 5.

[3] Ibid., 1.

[4] Jamil Civitarese, “Saifedean Ammous, the Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2018,” The Review of Austrian Economics 33, no. 3 (September 2020): 404, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11138-019-00446-z.

[5] Ammous, The Bitcoin Standard.

[6] Civitarese, “Saifedean Ammous, the Bitcoin Standard,” 403.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Luis Torras, “THE BITCOIN STANDARD: THE DECENTRALIZED ALTERNATIVE TO CENTRAL BANKING by Saifedean Ammous Wiley (2018), 304 Pp. ISBN: 978-1119473862 (Hb, £22.99); 978-1119473862 (e-Book, £17.99),” Economic Affairs 39, no. 1 (February 2019): 160, https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12339.

[9] Ammous, The Bitcoin Standard, 160.

[10] Ibid., 53.

[11] Lex Fridman, “Saifedean Ammous: Bitcoin, Anarchy, and Austrian Economics,” youtube.com, n.d., https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-fc-2212&ei=UTF-8&hsimp=yhs-2212&hspart=fc&param1=7&param2=eJw1i8sKgzAQRX9llgoSJw8Tip%2FRVREXqaYajEZ8YOnXdwItsznn3juD75u6vT84opRKNkW7kJPdCFOFHLkQJB2JUAR%2BTQsj2E0woxmXaTq4SOm5E56WaI4fH4ItK4aQXX7p47XDcgBHhjVQoFUNb61ysOsa3OWekz%2FKShomNWTTeMyhgOAnB4PrpphDN25xdiVHzTAd7PZlN%2F9%2Fcf3w67g0yJT5Ah0NPuA%3D&p=saifedean+ammous&type=fc_A30C76C6185_s58_g_e_d010122_n1009_c24#id=1&vid=5d3c6591ba0495fac7929baaf45bd44f&action=click.

[12] Ammous, The Bitcoin Standard, 52.

[13] Torras, “THE BITCOIN STANDARD,” 161.