Bitcoin's Path To Global Dominance with Cory Klippsten

Summary

The speakers enthusiastically discuss their optimistic vision for how Bitcoin and blockchain technology will profoundly improve global commerce and human cooperation. They foresee Bitcoin becoming a widely used medium of exchange and unit of account over the next 10-15 years. This will incentivize innovations that make cross-border transactions faster, cheaper, and more accessible. The speakers believe these technological advancements, combined with Bitcoin's ability to prevent wealth confiscation, will gradually shift behaviors towards more consensual, voluntary and peaceful economic interactions.

Takeaways

• 😊 Bitcoin as a store of value protects the downside and provides exit opportunities from tyranny
• 😎 Once Bitcoin's price dramatically increases, innovation in Bitcoin-based services will follow
• 🤔 Today Bitcoin is not the best tool for most medium of exchange use cases
• 😞 Bitcoin as a unitary account is still early and terrible
• 🔥 The shift to Bitcoin could happen suddenly once critical mass is reached
• 🌟 Bitcoin represents the start of the 'suddenly' after centuries of gradual progress
• 🎉 Borderless, decentralized technologies are making the world more connected
• 🙌 Voluntary exchange and consensus becomes more profitable without confiscation
• ☮️ Bitcoin disincentivizes violence by making it less profitable
• 🚀 We may be at the starting point of a major shift upwards for humanity

Q & A

What does the speaker believe will happen when the price of Bitcoin reaches $1 million per coin?

The speaker believes that when Bitcoin's price hits $1 million, more people will have most of their net worth in Bitcoin. This will drive market demand for products and services that allow people to easily spend their Bitcoin, rather than selling it first. This demand will spur innovation and cost reductions to better facilitate Bitcoin payments and commerce.

How does the speaker summarize his views on what Bitcoin will lead to?

The speaker summarizes that he sees Bitcoin being an incredible coordinating force and mechanism for commerce that leads to greater peace than we've had before. He is very optimistic about the positive impacts Bitcoin could have on the world.

Why does the speaker believe Bitcoin protects the downside for humanity?

The speaker believes Bitcoin's properties as a store of value can protect humanity from severe economic downsides. It provides an exit opportunity and check on the power of those who would abuse state-controlled fiat money.

What does the speaker see as the main limitations of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange currently?

The speaker acknowledges Bitcoin is not yet the best tool for most medium of exchange/payments use cases today. Limited adoption and infrastructure make it difficult and expensive to use Bitcoin for payments and remittances relative to other options in most situations currently.

How does the speaker explain the potential for a sudden increase in Bitcoin adoption?

The speaker uses an analogy of technological progress throughout history, with extended flat periods followed by sudden exponential growth. He believes we may just now be hitting the exponential part of Bitcoin adoption, so what has seemed gradual could soon accelerate dramatically.

What innovations does the speaker cite that make cross-border interactions much easier now?

The speaker cites recent innovations like video conferencing, social media alternatives, zaps and lens protocol making peer-to-peer cross-border interactions much more seamless than ever before.

How does the speaker believe Bitcoin could make violence less profitable?

Since Bitcoin exists solely in a user's head, the speaker believes it moves the incentives away from violence. If someone is killed, their Bitcoin is lost forever. This makes violence less profitable than consensual, voluntary trade.

What does the speaker foresee as the endpoint for Bitcoin and humanity?

The speaker believes humanity is at the starting point of a gradual then sudden advancement to the next level, facilitated by Bitcoin and related technologies lowering barriers and enabling more open, voluntary exchange between people globally.

What does the speaker mean when he talks about the prophecy of Bitcoin?

He seems to be referring to his belief that as Bitcoin adoption increases, it will make violence and coercion less beneficial than peaceful, voluntary trade between individuals. This will be enabled by Bitcoin's decentralized nature.

How long does the speaker believe it will take for full global adoption of Bitcoin?

The speaker estimates it will likely take around 80 years from Bitcoin's creation for it to reach full global saturation, due to it being a technological revolution that transforms societies gradually over generations.

Outlines

00:00

😊 Optimism about Bitcoin's potential to improve commerce and peace

The speaker is optimistic about Bitcoin's potential as a coordinating mechanism for commerce that could lead to greater peace. As a store of value, Bitcoin protects against tyranny and downside risks. As a medium of exchange, once more people have substantial net worth in Bitcoin, they will be more likely to spend it, fueling investment and innovation in services for the Bitcoin market.

05:03

🚀 Bitcoin adoption could happen suddenly after gradual build up

The speaker argues that Bitcoin adoption could happen suddenly after a long period of gradual progress, likening it to other technological revolutions that had a gradually then suddenly effect. Recent innovations enabling global communication and borderless transactions set the stage for this sudden shift once people realize the benefits of consensual, voluntary interactions.

Keywords

💡Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency and payment system that uses cryptography and a distributed ledger called the blockchain to verify transactions. The speaker believes Bitcoin has the potential to become a universal coordinating mechanism and medium of exchange that leads to more global commerce and peace by limiting the power of centralized authorities to abuse state-controlled currencies.

💡store of value

The idea that Bitcoin can protect against inflation and economic crisis by being a long-term means to preserve wealth. The speaker argues Bitcoin is the best tool for this job given its decentralized nature and capped supply.

💡medium of exchange

Using a currency to intermediate the exchange of goods and services, i.e. buying and selling. While the speaker believes Bitcoin will excel here in the future, he admits today there are better options for payments and remittances in most cases.

💡circularity

The concept of an economic system that keeps capital and purchasing power circulating locally rather than leaked out. Bitcoin enthusiasts are trying to create circular Bitcoin economies but have yet to gain significant traction.

💡gradually, then suddenly

The idea that a trend or system change happens slowly at first and then rapidly accelerates. The speaker applies this to Bitcoin/blockchain tech as an extension of previous innovations that may spark dramatic social progress.

💡shelling point

A focal point that people converge on for coordination in the absence of communication. The speaker argues Bitcoin's lack of physical nature moves the shelling point away from violence over property.

💡obsolete borders

The speaker argues innovations like Bitcoin, social media, and communication tools make geographic borders and associated obstacles increasingly irrelevant over time.

💡voluntary exchange

Transactions that happen willingly between parties rather than due to coercion. The speaker believes Bitcoin enables more of this by limiting seizure risk and making violence less profitable.

💡technological revolution

Fundamental shifts in technological infrastructure that transform economics and society, like the printing press or internet. The speaker positions Bitcoin as the next wave of this.

💡unitive accounting

Tracking units of account over time. The speaker notes almost nothing, including alternative cryptocurrencies, is priced in Bitcoin demonstrating its very early stage as a monetary unit.

Highlights

Bitcoin protects humanity's downside by being a store of value and exit opportunity from tyranny

Markets develop when there are venture-scale returns available from serving customer demand

As a store of value, Bitcoin is the best technology today, but not yet as a medium of exchange

Innovation in payments will happen when market demands to spend Bitcoin, not before

By 2035 most goods and services could be priced in satoshis globally

Bitcoin adoption has a long timeline, perhaps 80 years from start to full saturation

Technological progress happens gradually then suddenly - Bitcoin could be the 'suddenly'

Recent innovations like video calls make borders obsolete - a matter of time before voluntary exchange is seen as better

Bitcoin enables violence to become less profitable - it moves the shelling point away from aggression

We may be at the starting point of the 'gradually then suddenly' arc for humanity to reach the next level

Once it's harder to seize Bitcoins, economic interaction becomes more consensual and voluntary

There will be demand to spend Bitcoin once enough wealth is stored on the network

Timing innovation in payments perfectly requires starting after Bitcoin's rise but benefiting from previous work

Hobbyists are pushing Bitcoin payments now, but demand doesn't support it becoming widespread yet

The ability to exit abusive monetary regimes empowers people economically

Transcripts

what are you most optimistic about with

the idea that Bitcoin is is going to

ramp up what what do you think is going

to change in the world for the better

when that happens I mean we this is this

is the stuff we've been talking about

for years right

um so we get to wax philosophical a

little bit I mean I I've

always sort of summarized My Views which

are obviously like cliff notes of cliff

notes of every body else's views from

the hive mind but you know I just see

this being this incredible

coordinating force and mechanism for for

Commerce that leads to

peace to a greater degree than we've had

before right so I think I I I'm really

bullish on what happens I mean so you

protect the downside for Humanity by

having Bitcoin as a store of value and

being an exit opportunity and a check on

the tyranny of those who would abuse the

money frener so like that's kind of like

I always think about life in general and

business and Bitcoin and everything

about preventing dramatic moves to the

downside and then maximizing the number

and quality of your call options for

good good upside right

and so I feel like the store of value

thing kind of protects the downside and

then a lot of The Upside uh is store

value Rel but it's also medium of

exchange related so it's like once

Bitcoin hits a million dollars a coin

and there are a lot more people with you

know substantially all of their net

worth in Bitcoin that's essentially what

they have to spend and if it's easier to

just spend it than it is to sell it and

then spend the Fiat then they'll just

spend the Bitcoin and that's it's demand

from the market that causes investment

in products and services to serve that

market and so this is why the bcers were

all just wrong just basic economics and

you know sorry a little bit of B schol

doesn't hurt sometimes like or however

you want to learn it but learn that that

that markets generally develop when

there are Venture scale returns

available for investment in those

products and services and that means

that there has to be demand in the

market for that thing and so it's always

going to be kind of a hobbyist thing or

a uh you know a zealot Bitcoin psychos

you know trying to create Circ circular

economies or whatever until number goes

up dramatically and this is

because whereas Bitcoin as a store as a

technology for store of value

objectively if you understand it it's

the best tool for the job in the world

today if you understand all of the

different ways that you can do medium of

exchange or remittance or whatever there

are

some limited areas where today Bitcoin

is the best tool for the job but most of

the time it's not but it will be when

the market demands to spend Bitcoin and

a ton of innovation happens and costs

come down and we and we'll keep working

along the way because of the hobbyists

and because of the people like wanting

to be early and wanting to be first when

the market comes someone will get that

perfectly and time it perfectly and

maybe it's some of the lightling

companies that exist today but it might

be somebody that starts in

2026 that starts with a bunch of money

and a clean cap table and benefits from

standing on the shoulders of giants that

have been swinging at this thing for

eight years or nine years and that's

that's the set of companies that make it

but we have to be honest with ourselves

like it's not like Sergey at bit rale is

a bad bitcoiner it's that he has a

medium of exchange business like he

loves Bitcoin he'd much prefer to use

only Bitcoin and only oper Bitcoin but

Bitcoin is not the best tool for the job

in all cases

for remittance and payments so how is

Bitcoin doing as a unitive account in

your in your VI it's it's terrible like

nothing is really priced in Bitcoin

except

Bitcoin even shitcoins aren't priced in

Bitcoin anymore um and that will follow

after people want to use it for medium

exchange so you know I I think I had a

pretty aggressive timeline that I I'm

not moving off of it yet I've been

saying for a long time four years now

that I thought by 2035 uh most goods and

services around the world would be

priced in

SATs like not only SATs it'll be like

SATs in Euros SATs in dollars SATs in

Yen SATs like you know just like the

Dual price tag at the you know dutyfree

at the airport or something or in a

tourist town I don't know we'll see

things have to move faster than they are

now to hit 2035 for most things being

priced in SS they're not moving they're

not moving fast enough for that to to

happen by 2035 in my view but uh you

know I like what's the rush too like

this whole this whole thing is going to

be it's going to be 80 years from start

to full saturation anyway because it's a

technological Revolution not a damn tech

product yeah uh so on a linear uh

timeline that everything you say is true

but then you have the gradually done

suddenly effect this is not priced in

here right it priced into your argument

I mean it's always been suddenly that's

the thing I think it's it's gradually

than suddenly because it's like what

this really is is like a series of

technological revolutions harnessing

power printing press telecommunications

and like none of like Bitcoin couldn't

exist without all of these things

happening before maybe Bitcoin is the

suddenly and the suddenly is like the

the the the we've been growing like this

as a species and advancing and we just

started up the scurve a little bit with

the harnessing of power and fossil fuels

and the invention of microchips and the

internet and like maybe we're just

actually all this advancement that we

thought was going like this the last 200

years was actually still the the flat

part of the scurve and Bitcoin is the

suddenly I love that I love that picture

because that's how I feel about this

thing and I think like now with you know

us three sitting here on a video call

and you're on the other side of the

Atlantic uh as this wouldn't have been

possible 10 years ago let alone like

five years ago like preco video

conferencing wasn't the thing not not at

all in the like people use it now like

always it it just wasn't very common

preo and and this is just a couple of

years back and you social media is

getting better and better and you have

Noster as an alternative and all this

stuff uh with uh ways of reaching and

doing things cross borders that just

weren't possible before and on top of

that you have zaps and and you know Len

URLs and all of these beautiful

inventions that really make every single

border on Earth completely Obsolete and

just a thing of the past already yeah uh

and so so it's just a matter of time

before people figure out that you know

doing things consensually and

voluntarily and

with is not only better for you and the

person you're dealing with but better

for everyone else and more profitable

and when you can't take someone's

Bitcoins because they're in their heads

and if you kill them they're lost then

you move the shelling point to violence

and violence becomes less profitable and

this is this is the prophecy here like

this is how this plays out I I truly

believe that that we're we're actually

at the the starting point of the

gradually then suddenly for Humanity and

to to reach Next Level that

that's yeah a beautiful

picture