Back to course 'ECON135: What Is Money?'

Topic outline

  • Unit 4: Transformative Money and the Evolution of Sociopolitical Systems

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    In this unit, we will continue to compare and contrast the various monetary standards throughout history – gold, fiat, and Bitcoin. Then, we'll move into a discussion of Bitcoin as a cybernetic lifeform that consumes and subsumes many functions and roles that are important in the fiat world.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 6 hours.

    • Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

      • identify the three critical dimensions of ideal money;
      • explain how Bitcoin allows for a transition from politically engineered money to scientifically engineered money;
      • evaluate the practical limitations and failures of both the gold standard and the fiat system;
      • describe how Bitcoin collapses counterparty risk and resolves the inherent paradox of the gold-vs-fiat struggle;
      • discuss the Lightning Network as a proof-of-stake network utilizing Bitcoin as its token and inheriting its security;
      • evaluate the ways in which Bitcoin alters the economic logic of violence;
      • explain the concept of "dematerialization" in relation to various functions and roles in the fiat world; and
      • analyze the potential impact of Bitcoin adoption on international politics.