{"product_id":"the-bitcoin-standard","title":"The Bitcoin Standard","description":"When a pseudonymous programmer introduced \"a new electronic cash system that is fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party\" to a small online mailing list in 2008, few paid attention. Ten years later, and against all odds, this fledgling autonomous decentralized software offers an unstoppable and globally accessible hard-money alternative to modern central banks. The Bitcoin Standard analyzes the historical context of Bitcoin's rise, the economic properties that allowed it to grow rapidly, and its likely economic, political, and social implications. \u003cbr\u003eWhile Bitcoin is a novel invention of the digital age, the problem it claims to solve is as old as human society itself: the transfer of value across time and space. Ammous takes the reader on a captivating journey through the history of technologies that fulfill the functions of money, from primitive systems for trading limestone and shells, to metals, coins, the gold standard, and modern sovereign debt. By examining what gave these technologies their monetary role, and how they most often lost it, the reader gains a good sense of what constitutes sound money and paves the way for an economic discussion of its implications for individual and societal future orientation, capital accumulation, trade, peace, culture, and art. Ammous convincingly demonstrates that it is no coincidence that humanity's greatest achievements have been achieved in societies that enjoy the benefits of sound monetary regimes, nor is it a coincidence that monetary collapse has typically accompanied the collapse of civilization. \u003cbr\u003eWith this background in place, the book goes on to explain Bitcoin's operation in a functional and intuitive way. Bitcoin is a decentralized, distributed piece of software that converts electricity and processing power into indisputably accurate data, allowing users to use the internet to perform the traditional functions of money without relying on authorities or infrastructure in the physical world. Bitcoin is thus best understood as the first successfully implemented form of digital cash and digital hard money. With an automated and perfectly predictable monetary policy and the ability to permanently settle large sums of money worldwide in minutes, Bitcoin's true competitive advantage could lie as a store of value and network for the permanent settlement of large payments—a digital form of gold with a built-in settlement infrastructure. \u003cbr\u003eAmmous's firm grasp of the technological possibilities and historical realities of monetary evolution makes for a fascinating exploration of the ramifications of voluntary free-market money. While challenging the most sacred government monopolies, Bitcoin shifts the pendulum of sovereignty away from governments and in favor of individuals, offering us the tantalizing possibility of a world where money is completely decoupled from politics and unrestricted by borders. \u003cbr\u003eThe book's final chapter explores some of the most pressing questions surrounding Bitcoin: Is Bitcoin mining a waste of energy? Is Bitcoin for criminals? Who controls Bitcoin, and can they change it if they want? How can Bitcoin be killed? And what about all the thousands of Bitcoin knockoffs, and the many alleged applications of Bitcoin's \"blockchain technology\"? The Bitcoin Standard is the essential resource for a clear understanding of the rise of the internet's decentralized, apolitical, free-market alternative to national central banks.","brand":"Bibliotheek","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47322437976408,"sku":"2000-000034","price":34.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0788\/6051\/7720\/products\/The-Bitcoin-Standard-min.jpg?v=1696974135","url":"https:\/\/store.kideo.nl\/en\/products\/the-bitcoin-standard","provider":"Kideo.store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}