In this conversation, Natalie Smolenski discusses the intersection of Bitcoin, anthropology, and political economy. She explores the debate on the origin of money and the clash between anthropologists and economists. Smolenski argues that money is a social technology that can take different forms based on trust and use cases. She examines the limitations of fiat currency and the importance of trust in debt settlement. Smolenski also discusses the rise of Bitcoin as a competing institution to traditional currencies and the threat to open source development in the EU. We also discuss various topics related to jurisdictional arbitrage, the Texas Bitcoin Foundation, the challenges facing universities, and the future of higher education.

Links:

X: @NSmolenski 
Satoshi Papers: Satoshipapers.org  
Texas Bitcoin Foundation: txbitcoinfoundation.org

Sponsors:

Swan.com (code LIVERA)
CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)
Mempool.space

Stephan Livera links:

Follow me on X: @stephanlivera
Subscribe to the podcast


Timestamps/Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Background
03:00 The Debate on the Origin of Money
06:50 Clash between Anthropologists and Economists
13:14 The Role of Commodity Money
20:07 Coinkite.com
21:29 Swan.com
27:05 Payment vs Settlement
34:44 The Decline of State Power and the Rise of Bitcoin
39:00 Mempool.space
40:13 The Competition between Bitcoin and Fiat Currency
52:18 The Threat to Open Source Development in the EU
59:24 The Texas Bitcoin Foundation and Bridging the Gap
01:01:24 The Challenges of Universities and the Need for Innovation