Saifedean Ammous

While in prison, I learned a great deal by reading. Books helped me escape the environment and participate in the broader society, or at least learn from leaders. I encourage readers to write reports about what they learn. Those in our community may use Prison Professors Talent, a free resource for people to memorialize all the ways that they’re preparing for success upon release.

Why I Chose to Read The Bitcoin Standard

During my visit to the United Arab Emirates in October, I had the privilege of meeting Christel Buchanan and Saqr Ereiqat, two exceptional individuals with deep expertise in blockchain technology, Web 3.0, and Bitcoin. They generously volunteered to contribute content to Prison Professors, helping to build lessons for people in prison. During separate video conversations, I asked Christel and Saqr for book recommendations to educate others about Bitcoin, and they both strongly suggested I read The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous.

Their recommendation resonated with me because I’ve begun incorporating Bitcoin into my financial strategy, inspired by conversations with leaders in the space. I saw this as an opportunity to deepen my understanding of Bitcoin and its role as a transformative form of money.

What I Learned from Reading The Bitcoin Standard

I listened to The Bitcoin Standard on Audible while running in early January. Audiobooks have become my preferred method for consuming information since they allow me to learn efficiently while managing a busy schedule. The book provided an exceptional education on the history of money and the unique properties that make Bitcoin revolutionary.

The History of Money

Saifedean Ammous explains that money is fundamentally a store of value—a way to preserve wealth for future use. He describes the evolution of money, starting with an island in Micronesia where residents used large stones as currency. These stones were valuable not because of their intrinsic properties but because of the immense effort required to quarry and transport them, making them scarce and difficult to counterfeit.

Over time, different societies adopted various forms of money, such as seashells, silver, gold, and eventually fiat currency. Fiat currency refers to government-backed money that isn’t tied to a tangible asset, such as gold. Historically, governments would back currencies like the U.S. dollar with gold reserves, but over the years, they moved away from this practice. Today, governments can print unlimited amounts of money, a process that devalues existing currency through inflation.

Understanding Inflation

Inflation occurs when the government increases the money supply without a corresponding increase in goods and services. To illustrate:

Imagine you saved $100,000. If the government prints trillions of dollars, the value of your savings decreases because there is more money chasing the same amount of goods. A loaf of bread that cost $1 might now cost $2. This devaluation erodes the purchasing power of your savings.

Saifedean Ammous explains that inflation disproportionately harms savers and rewards those who can borrow money cheaply. Over time, fiat currency becomes a poor store of value, leading people to seek alternatives like gold—or in the modern age, Bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s Solution

Bitcoin addresses the challenges of fiat currency by being a form of hard money with a limited supply. Unlike fiat money, where governments can print unlimited amounts, Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million coins. This scarcity is enforced by the Bitcoin protocol, making it impossible to create more Bitcoins beyond the limit.

Bitcoin’s supply also follows a predictable schedule. Every four years, an event called a “halving” reduces the rate at which new Bitcoins are introduced into circulation. This engineered scarcity gives Bitcoin a high stock-to-flow ratio, meaning the amount of existing Bitcoin is much larger than the amount being newly created. This ratio contributes to its reliability as a store of value.

In contrast to fiat currency, Bitcoin is decentralized. No single entity, including governments or corporations, controls it. This feature, combined with its portability and divisibility, makes Bitcoin an ideal solution for preserving wealth in a world prone to inflation and economic instability.

Bitcoin as an Investment

Ammous highlights Bitcoin’s performance since its inception, making it the best-performing asset over the past 15 years. In 2010, 10 Bitcoins were worth just 1 penny. Today, each Bitcoin trades at around $100,000, demonstrating its ability to grow as a store of value and investment.

How Reading The Bitcoin Standard Will Influence My Career

Reading this book deepened my commitment to Bitcoin as part of my financial strategy. I began accumulating Bitcoin in early 2024. I began by accumulating a portion of Bitcoin, and by the time I met Christel and Saqr, I had grown our family’s portfolio to 12 coins. After meeting Christel and Saqr, my wife and I sold some assets so we could raise liquidity to grow our holdings to 17 coins. Inspired by The Bitcoin Standard, we set a goal to increase our portfolio to 25 Bitcoins by the end of 2025.

While I don’t provide financial advice, I encourage others to educate themselves about Bitcoin and other financial assets. For us, Bitcoin represents an opportunity to preserve and grow wealth while minimizing exposure to inflationary risks.

As a teacher and advocate, I also see Bitcoin as an important topic for the incarcerated community. By understanding the history of money and Bitcoin’s potential, individuals in prison can begin thinking critically about their financial futures, equipping themselves to succeed after release.

Key Terms to Understand

Hard Money: A form of money that is difficult to produce or inflate, maintaining its value over time (e.g., gold, Bitcoin).
Fiat Currency: Government-backed money not tied to a tangible asset, like the U.S. dollar.
Inflation: The devaluation of money due to an increase in the supply of currency without a corresponding increase in goods and services.
Stock-to-Flow Ratio: A measure of scarcity; the ratio of existing supply (stock) to new production (flow).
Halving: A Bitcoin network event that reduces the rate of new Bitcoin issuance by 50%, occurring approximately every four years.

Self-Directed Question

What steps can you take today to educate yourself about the changing nature of money, and how can this knowledge help you build a stronger financial foundation for the future?