The Bitcoin Standard Podcast
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.
Episodes
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349. The Gold Standard - Presented at the Property & Freedom Society
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: BitGo: Institutional custody, now available…
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348. The Bitcoin Standard Course - Lecture 2: Money
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...
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347. The Bitcoin Standard Course - Launch Lecture
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...
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346. The Bitcoin Standard 2018 Launch
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/
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345. Bitcoin, Mining, and Stablecoins
Saifedean is hosted by Bitcoin Magazine TV to discuss his recent work on Bitcoin mining and stablecoins, as well as the US fiscal outlook. 🔗👇🏼 Sponsors Swan - Your Partner for Generational Wealth - https://swan.com/saif The Saif House - High quality cloth hardcover bitcoin books by Saifedean &...
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344. Can Stablecoins Save the Dollar?
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…
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343. Bitcoin Electricity Consumption May Have Peaked
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:...
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342. Hardware Wallets: Security or Liability
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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341. Bitcoin Custody with Ben Westgate & BTC Pavao
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.
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340. Fiat, gold & bitcoin: Interview with Mark Moss.
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.
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339. DIY Bitcoin with HAC
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:...
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338. How Gold Could Have Gone Global - The Gold Standard Audiobook, Chapter 9
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...
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337. ColdCard Hack & Seedsigner with Seed
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…
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IMPORTANT ColdCard SECURITY UPDATE
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.…
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336. Rothbard at 100 Conference: Talks by Ammous, Hoppe, Kinsella & de Mombynes
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...
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335. Bitcoin & the Surveillance State with Cory Klippsten
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
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334. Principles of Economics Lecture 18: Civilization
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...
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333. The Fiat Trap with Nicolas Cary
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...
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332. Principles of Economics Lecture 17: Defense
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…
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331. Palestine, Israel & Property Rights - Interview with Mario Nawfal
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...
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330. Rothbard At 100 - A Tribute And Assessment
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
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329. Principles of Economics Lecture 16: Violence
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…
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328. Property Rights: The Root Cause of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
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:...
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327. Principles of Economics Lecture 15: Monetary Expansion
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...
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326. On Milei and Rothbard
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...
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325. Principles of Economics Lecture 14: Credit and Banking
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...
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324. Apolar Money: Lecture at the Global Economy & Finance Conference in Seoul
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.
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323. Principles of Economics Lecture 13: Time Preference
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...
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322. Principles of Economics Lecture 12: Capitalism
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…
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321. Principles of Economics Lecture 11: Markets
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...
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320. Principles of Economics Lecture 10: Money
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…
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319. Escalating from Suez to Waterloo
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...
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318. Principles of Economics Lecture 9: Trade
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…
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317. Principles of Economics Lecture 8: Energy and Power
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...
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316. Principles of Economics Lecture 7: Technology
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...
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315. Principles of Economics Lecture 6: Capital
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...
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314. Principles of Economics Lecture 5: Property
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…
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313. Principles of Economics Lecture 4: Labor
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...
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312. Principles of Economics Lecture 3: Time
Third lecture of Principles of Economics examines time as the ultimate scarce resource, showing how all human action unfolds across time, why opportunity cost exists, how time preference shapes choices, and how economizing time drives production, saving, and civilization. Get all course notes and...
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311. The Bitcoin vs Gold Debate: Saifedean Ammous vs Peter Schiff
Saifedean debates Peter Schiff on gold, bitcoin, and the future of money, during the PlanB Conference in San Salvador!
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310: Principles of Economics Lecture 2: Value
Second lecture of Principles of Economics course explores value as a subjective judgment existing only in the consciousness of humans, how scarcity forces economizing, and how marginal utility determines choices and valuations of goods. Get all course notes and slides on saifedean.com/poecourse
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309: Principles of Economics Lecture 1: Human Action
Starting this week, I'm releasing all the lectures of my Principles of Economics online course for free! This week's lecture explores economics as the study of human action and choice under scarcity, how humans act purposefully with deliberative reason, and why proper economic reasoning is based…
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308. Fiat Money, Inflation & the Collapse of Civilization with Danny Knowles
Saifedean joins Danny Knowles on What Bitcoin Did to discuss The Gold Standard: how fiat funded war and made endless conflict possible, why hard money shapes time preference, and why gold failed where Bitcoin can win.
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307. The Incredible World Sound Money Would Have Given Us with Tom Woods
Tom Woods interviews Saifedean about his latest book, The Gold Standard. https://saifedean.com/tgs
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306. The Bitcoin Way with Tony Yazbeck
Our friend Tony Yazbeck rejoins us to tell us about bitcoin best practices, self-custody, and privacy.
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305. Principles of Economics With Juan Ramón Rallo
In this interview, Saifedean talks with economist Juan Ramón Rallo about his book Principles of Economics, as well as the future of fiat money in the face of the rise of gold and Bitcoin.
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304. Daylight Computer With Tristan Scott
Tristan Scott, founder of Daylight Computer, joins us to explore the philosophy behind distraction-free technology, the limits of current devices, and how rethinking hardware can help restore focus and mental clarity.
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303. The Network State with Balaji Srinivasan
We’re joined by Balaji Srinivasan, entrepreneur and investor, to explore his ideas from The Network State: how technology is reshaping companies, communities, and currencies—and how it could also enable new cities and even new countries.
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302. The Fiat Standard Chapter 18: Can Bitcoin Fix This?
The final lecture of this course examines how bitcoin's fixed supply & censorship resistance upends the entire fiat monetary order, & explores how the two systems will interact over time. You can buy the hardcover, ebook or audiobook in several languages on saifedean.com/TFS, where you can also...
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301. The Gold Standard Preview
Saifedean's talk at The Bitcoin Conference introducing his new book, The Gold Standard, followed by the introduction and chapter 1 of the book! Get your audiobook, hardcover, or paperback from TheSaifHouse.com or Amazon.com.
About this show
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.
Hosted by
Dr. Saifedean Ammous