The Real Origins of Money with Natalie Smolenski SLP538
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