The Bitcoin Standard Audiobook By Saifedean Ammous cover art

The Bitcoin Standard

The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking

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The Bitcoin Standard

By: Saifedean Ammous
Narrated by: Shawn K. Jain
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When a pseudonymous programmer introduced "a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party" to a small online mailing list in 2008, very few people paid attention. Ten years later, and against all odds, this upstart autonomous decentralized software offers an unstoppable and globally accessible hard money alternative to modern central banks. The Bitcoin Standard analyzes the historical context to the rise of Bitcoin, the economic properties that have allowed it to grow quickly, and its likely economic, political, and social implications.



While Bitcoin is an invention of the digital age, the problem it purports to solve is as old as human society itself: transferring value across time and space. Author Saifedean Ammous takes the listener on an engaging journey through the history of technologies performing the functions of money, from primitive systems of trading limestones and seashells, to metals, coins, the gold standard, and modern government debt. Exploring what gave these technologies their monetary role, and how most lost it, provides the listener with a good idea of what makes for sound money, and sets the stage for an economic discussion of its consequences for individual and societal future-orientation, capital accumulation, trade, peace, culture, and art.©2018 Saifedean Ammous E-Commerce Technology Money Cryptocurrency
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The Bitcoin Standard is one of the most informative and well-argued books I've listened to on the history of money and the economic principles behind Bitcoin. Saifedean Ammous doesn't simply explain cryptocurrency, he begins by tracing the evolution of money throughout history, helping listeners understand why societies adopted different forms of currency and what characteristics make money "sound."

Whether you ultimately agree with all of the author's conclusions or not, the book presents a compelling case for Bitcoin as a monetary innovation. It challenges conventional thinking about inflation, central banking, and fiat currency in a way that encourages critical thought rather than blind acceptance.

The Audible narration is excellent, making complex economic concepts easy to follow during long listening sessions. The pacing is engaging, and the material is organized in a logical progression that builds your understanding chapter by chapter.

I would recommend this audiobook to anyone interested in economics, finance, investing, or cryptocurrency. Even if you're skeptical about Bitcoin, this book provides valuable historical and economic context that will deepen your understanding of how money works and why Bitcoin has become such an influential asset.

Five stars. It's one of the best foundational books available for anyone who wants to understand the economic philosophy behind Bitcoin rather than just its price movements.

A Thought-Provoking Exploration of Bitcoin

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This is now my favorite (audio) book.
(Note the 14k reviews on Goodreads.)
Utility: Investment; Fiscal Policy; Economic Theory
Disclaimer: 'Crypto' generally scares me as an investment class.
Relevance: This volume details why Bitcoin--and it alone--signifies perhaps the most reliable "store of monetary value" available on the world currency market today.
(This is the best econ text to which I have ever read or listened--and, consider, I have over 200 titles in my Audible library of what I would call high-quality non-fiction material.)
The non-Bitcoin specific sections serve as a tour de force. Said sectioms are a voyage through time of the devastatingly sad history of fiat currency: Hard working citizens working exponentially harder & harder to accumulate a currency that only gets exponentially less valuable.
It is a sealed indictment of central bank control. It gives real teeth to any arguments with which you are already inclined to agree opposing Fed monopoly on financial power & exception you might take with its quasi-fascisti control over the populace.
I have now moved on to his titles about the gold standard. Next I will tackle his econ theory textbook.
You will likely feel your thought patterns being liberated by his devastating critique of any government mandate over currencies generally.

Your Fiat Money Is Vulnerable (Or: Reasons to Love Bitcoin, Not Crypto)

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