Layered Money


Book Description

In this fascinating deep dive into the evolution of monetary systems around the globe, Nik Bhatia takes us into the origins of how money has evolved to function in a "layered" manner. Using gold as an example of this term, he traces the layers of this ancient currency from raw mined material, to gold coins, and finally to bank-issued gold certificates. In a groundbreaking manner, Bhatia offers a similar paradigm for the evolution of digital currencies. Bhatia's analysis begins in Renaissance Florence with the gold Florin coin and a burgeoning banking culture, continues with the evolution of central banking, and concludes with a vision for the future of our international monetary system. As central banks around the world prepare to launch their own crypto-competitors, Bhatia illustrates how the invention of Bitcoin created a seismic shift in money and merged the monetary and cryptography sciences. His unique analysis of "layered money" illuminates money markets for the general reader and shows how Bitcoin is becoming a trusted global currency. Readers will come away with an understanding of the mechanics of our financial system, why the dollar is deeply entrenched despite its state of disrepair, and how Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and cryptocurrencies will interact in our new monetary future.




Summary of Nik Bhatia's Layered Money


Book Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Money is a tool that allowed humans to progress away from reciprocal altruism, where animals exchange favors. Humans have used seashells, animal teeth, jewelry, livestock, and iron tools as tokens of barter for tens of thousands of years, but eventually settled on gold and silver as globally accepted forms of currency. #2 The first coins were made by the Lydians around 700 BC. They were embossed with an image of a roaring lion and weighed 126 grains, which is about 8 grams. Because all coins had a precise amount of gold, they could then be used as a unit of account. #3 The Roman Empire is a great example of how coins led to government influence over currency. In the first century AD, coins called denarii were minted by the government in Rome, and due to the empire’s worldwide expanse, they were used across Europe, Asia, and Africa. #4 The northern Italian cities of Florence, Venice, Genoa, and Pisa established themselves as city-republics in the 11th century, and their newfound independence was later marked by the coinage of their own money. The Florentine florin was the first gold florin, and it became the international monetary standard for pan-European finance.




Digital Gold


Book Description

A New York Times reporter’s “vivid” account of the dramatic rise of Bitcoin and how it has led to untold riches for some—and prison terms for others (Financial Times). Shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice The notion of a new currency, maintained by the computers of users around the world, has been the butt of many jokes, but that has not stopped it from growing into a technology worth billions of dollars, supported by the hordes of followers who have come to view it as the most important new idea since the creation of the Internet. Believers from Beijing to Buenos Aires see the potential for a financial system free from banks and governments. More than just a tech industry fad, Bitcoin has threatened to decentralize some of society’s most basic institutions. An unusual tale of group invention, Digital Gold charts the rise of the Bitcoin technology through the eyes of the movement’s colorful central characters, including an Argentinian millionaire, a Chinese entrepreneur, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and Bitcoin’s elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. “Engrossing.” —Library Journal “An elegant, thrilling tour-de-force. . . .The fast-paced action never stops.” —William D. Cohan, New York Times–bestselling author of Power Failure




Bitcoin


Book Description

What makes Bitcoin so special? What sets Bitcoin apart from every other monetary asset that preceded it? What is a monetary asset in the first place? What is money? What is inflation? Who benefits from it? What is scarcity? Is Bitcoin's mining process wasteful? Is Bitcoin a religion or a rejection of religious beliefs? All of this and more, inside.




Safe Haven


Book Description

What is a safe haven? What role should they play in an investment portfolio? Do we use them only to seek shelter until the passing of financial storms? Or are they something more? Contrary to everything we know from modern financial theory, can higher returns actually come as a result of lowering risk? In Safe Haven, hedge fund manager Mark Spitznagel—one of the top practitioners of safe haven investing and portfolio risk mitigation in the world—answers these questions and more. Investors who heed the message in this book will never look at risk mitigation the same way again.




Cryptoasset Inheritance Planning


Book Description

"What happens to my bitcoin, ether, or other cryptoassets when I die?" Cryptoasset Inheritance Planning: A Simple Guide for Owners by Pamela Morgan, Esq. is a clear blueprint to inheritance planning for those holding cryptocurrency, tokens, crypto-collectibles, and other cryptoassets. Since 2015, Pamela has educated thousands of cryptocurrency owners around the world about why inheritance planning for cryptoassets matters and how to do it in a secure, usable, resilient, and efficient manner. In this book, Pamela walks you through her successful step-by-step inheritance planning processes. These processes are designed to help you build a customized crypotasset inheritance access plan - and you don't need to be a security expert or lawyer to do it. Inside you'll also find helpful tools like checklists, templates, and worksheets to make building your plan simple and easy. Topics include: * how to write a basic access plan in two to three hours * how to assess your risks and make your plan better * debunking common myths and misconceptions about cryptoasset inheritance planning * what laws you need to know about and why * how to interview, hire, and fire a lawyer and how to keep costs down * why smart contracts don't apply to inheritance today, but will someday * and so much more By the time you complete the book, your plans should: (1) allow your heirs to take possession of your cryptoassets when the time comes, but not before, (2) minimize the opportunity for others to steal cryptoassets from your loved ones, (3) provide an opportunity for your loved ones to hold the assets securely, instead of liquidating, (4) prevent fighting amongst your heirs and avoid legal problems whenever possible. Buy this book, follow the processes, and you'll be able to confidently answer the question, "What happens to my bitcoin, ether, or other cryptoassets when I die?" F.A.Q. Who is this book written for? If you own any cryptocurrency or cryptoasset tokens, this book is for you. If you use an exchange to buy and sell cryptoassets, this book is for you. If you've ever asked the question, "What will happen to my bitcoin, ether, or other cryptoassets when I die?" this book is for you. If you want someone, anyone, to inherit your cryptoassets when you die, this book is for you. Do I need to be an attorney or security expert to use this book? No. This book isn't written specifically for lawyers, security experts, or cryptographers, though they may benefit from the material. I don't live in the USA, is this book still relevant to my inheritance planning? The entire book, with the exception of the Making it Legal, is applicable to any cryptoasset owner in any jurisdiction. The Making it Legal section cites some USA law but the principles are broadly applicable around the world. Will this book teach me about specific cryptoasset laws in my jurisdiction? No. A book like that is called a legal treatise; they're heady and dense, even for lawyers. Instead, this book focuses on practical information you need know, like what happens to your assets if you don't have a will and why you shouldn't put your cryptographic keys in your will. You'll learn about high-level legal concepts that might affect your assets, how to find out more information about the laws in your jurisdiction, and how to keep legal costs down. The unique challenges with cryptoasset inheritance planning are not primarily legal - they're primarily technical. With this book, you'll learn how to create a cryptoasset access plan for your heirs. Your access plan aims to answer the question, "From a practical perspective, how will my loved ones access my cryptoassets when I'm not around to help them?"




Why Buy Bitcoin


Book Description

In the next decade Bitcoin will have passed through adolescence and reached adulthood. This book tells the fascinating journey of Bitcoin and why it could be the best investment opportunity of your life. You'll learn about Bitcoin's role in the history of money and why it's considered "good money" by many financial advisors, including the author, who has spent a decade and a half in the investment business. Bitcoin's value has grown exponentially over multiple boom and bust cycles spanning more than a decade. If Bitcoin reaches its potential, its value could rise by ten or even 100 times its current price. Bitcoin, like Alibaba, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Microsoft, and Tencent, relies on the network effect (how many others are using it). But the market for money is much greater than the combined market values of the Internet giants.This book will help you understand why Bitcoin is the world's solution for the problem of money, the role of money in our economy, the current state of debt, and the particular intricacies of Bitcoin.




The Crypto Trader


Book Description

The real-life trades and strategies of a successful cryptocurrency trader Glen Goodman's goal was to retire young and wealthy, escaping the daily grind. He taught himself how to trade everything from shares to Bitcoin and made enough money to realise his dream and quit his day job while still in his 30s. In The Crypto Trader, Glen will show you exactly how he made huge profits trading Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and more, so that you can do it too - without risking your shirt. Glen publicly called the top of the market in December 2017 and took his profits before the crash. But there are still tons of trading opportunities out there and Glen continues to trade crypto successfully. Inside you'll see his multi-hundred-percent gains on a raft of cryptocurrencies and learn how he builds his profits and holds onto them. Glen reveals all his trading strategies, the proven methods and rules that make him one of the most followed traders in the world on social media. (He is also frequently interviewed by the BBC, Forbes and LBC, and is a contributing expert on cryptocurrency at the London School of Economics.) It took Glen years of study and trial and error to become a consistent money maker. He learnt his trading lessons the hard way - so you don't have to. With The Crypto Trader by your side, you'll learn how to grab opportunities, make money - and keep it.




The Bitcoin Standard


Book Description

A comprehensive and authoritative exploration of Bitcoin and its place in monetary history 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 reader 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 reader 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. Compellingly, Ammous shows that it is no coincidence that the loftiest achievements of humanity have come in societies enjoying the benefits of sound monetary regimes, nor is it coincidental that monetary collapse has usually accompanied civilizational collapse. With this background in place, the book moves on to explain the operation of Bitcoin in a functional and intuitive way. Bitcoin is a decentralized, distributed piece of software that converts electricity and processing power into indisputably accurate records, thus allowing its users to utilize the Internet to perform the traditional functions of money without having to rely on, or trust, any 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 perform final settlement of large sums across the world in a matter of minutes, Bitcoin’s real competitive edge might just be as a store of value and network for the final settlement of large payments a digital form of gold with a built-in settlement infrastructure. Ammous’ firm grasp of the technological possibilities as well as the historical realities of monetary evolution provides for a fascinating exploration of the ramifications of voluntary free market money. As it challenges the most sacred of government monopolies, Bitcoin shifts the pendulum of sovereignty away from governments in favor of individuals, offering us the tantalizing possibility of a world where money is fully extricated from politics and unrestrained by borders. The final chapter of the book explores some of the most common questions surrounding Bitcoin: Is Bitcoin mining a waste of energy? Is Bitcoin for criminals? Who controls Bitcoin, and can they change it if they please? How can Bitcoin be killed? And what to make of all the thousands of Bitcoin knockoffs, and the many supposed applications of Bitcoin's 'block chain 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.




The Truth About Crypto


Book Description

A straightforward, practical guide to the newest frontier in investment strategy—crypto—from #1 New York Times bestselling author and personal finance expert Ric Edelman. Blockchain and bitcoin are here to stay—and as the Bank of England stated, this new technology could “transform the global financial system.” No wonder PWC says blockchain technology will add $2 trillion to the world’s $80 trillion economy by 2030. Indeed, blockchain technology and the digital assets it makes possible are revolutionary, the most profound innovation for commerce since the invention of the internet. And yet, the average investor—and the investment advisors who manage two-thirds of all their money—aren’t aware of all this, or of the incredible investment opportunities now available. Fortunately, Ric Edelman, one of the most influential experts in the financial field, shows investors how they can engage and thrive in today’s new investment marketplace. Featuring the prophetic insights you’d expect from one of most acclaimed financial advisors, The Truth About Crypto is fun to read and easy to understand—and most importantly gives readers the sound, practical advice we all need to succeed with this new asset class. Best of all, Edelman shows how blockchain works, the difference between digital currency and digital assets, and a comprehensive look at every aspect of the field. This book is a must-read guide if you want to achieve investment success today.