Bitcoin - Is it like digital corn, gold or something else?
In a recent episode of the podcast Tetragrammation with Rick, Jack Mallers, founder of Strike and a prominent figure in the Bitcoin community, shared his insights on time, energy, and money’s role in society.
Jack Mallers’ style is - let’s talk in grounded, easy to understand terms when it comes to Bitcoin and its use case. This style may come from his background. He comes from a family with deep roots in Chicago’s commodities market. His father and grandfather's involvement in this sector provided him with a unique take on Bitcoin as a digital commodity. That foundation must have played a role in developing his philosophical, but practical use case for Bitcoin - digital property.
In the interview, Mallers spoke to the "hardness of money," meaning: How hard is this thing to produce? How well does it transfer through time and space? Is it a reliable store of value and someone’s time and energy? He argued that as we place a premium on the future, our understanding of value must evolve. Historically, gold served as a robust store of value, due to its history, acceptance and physical properties. Bitcoin has emerged with similar properties to gold, but in digital form for the digital age.
An interesting point in the conversation was discussing the relationship between debt and GDP. Mallers asked, “how much money is it costing to grow the economy?” There’s staggering cost currently for economic growth fueled by debt, via money printing. By viewing Bitcoin through the lens of digital property, Jack posits - Bitcoin can provide individuals with a means to protect their time and energy (their wealth), against the eroding effects of inflation and excessive government money printing, which is another way of saying government spending. This perspective aligns with his belief that "time is infinite, but my time is finite." Your time is valuable, because it is not infinite, you have a finite supply.
As stated above, Jack Mallers mixes practicality and philosophy. There’s a valuable use case for Bitcoin and a deep meaning to what money really is - technology. The technology that is easiest to use and “hardest” will win. Bitcoin has been called “the currency of the internet” by another Jack, Jack Dorsey. Mallers has this no bull shit ideal - “fix the money, fix the world” - and he thinks Bitcoin can do that. So, I don’t think Bitcoin is like digital corn.
*not financial advice
Below is the podcast and Jack Mallers Money Matters podcast.
Tetragrammation with Rick: Jack Mallers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW36zox-xR8
Money Matters - https://www.youtube.com/@MoneyMattersPod
