Michael Saylor is the CEO of MicroStrategy and a prominent holder and proponent of Bitcoin. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Scale: https://scale.com/lex - Coinbase: https://coinbase.com/lex to get $10 in free Bitcoin - Audible: https://audible.com/lex to get $9.95 a month for 6 months - NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/lex to get free product tour - SimpliSafe: https://simplisafe.com/lex and use code LEX EPISODE LINKS: Michael's Twitter: https://twitter.com/saylor MicroStrategy: https://microstrategy.com/ Michael's Book: https://amzn.to/37J2iA0 Book mentioned: https://amzn.to/3jwsIaP PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (07:09) - Grading our understanding (19:27) - Inflation (39:03) - Government (1:00:13) - War and power (1:11:23) - Dematerializing information (1:42:45) - Digital energy and assets (1:54:23) - Oil barrel vs Bitcoin (2:03:43) - Layers of Bitcoin (2:20:53) - Bitcoin's role during wartime (2:25:37) - Jack Dorsey (2:41:58) - Bitcoin conflict of interest (2:48:39) - Satoshi Nakamoto (2:54:04) - Volatility (3:06:30) - Bitcoin price (3:18:46) - Twitter verification (3:27:42) - Second best crypto (3:33:24) - Dogecoin (3:37:57) - Elon Musk (3:43:26) - Advice for young people (3:54:54) - Mortality (3:57:59) - Meaning of life
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The speaker poses the hypothetical question of how advanced humans or aliens will view engineering and the big questions humanity has tackled in the early 21st century. He suggests they may give us a B- for our understanding of engineering and the hard sciences.
The scalar view of economics, which looks only at a single number to support a particular course of action, can lead to ignoring the wider consequences of decisions. By taking a more nuanced approach, using insights from maths and physics, economists can work towards a more sustainable future.
The conventional approach of equating inflation to government issued CPI, PCE, or PPI measure is flawed. The rate of increase in the price of a market basket of consumer products defined by a government agency does not truly reflect the actual inflation rate.
This podcast discusses the fairness of making a 10% return on a billion dollar investment paying 3% interest, while the money supply expands at a rate of 7-10% a year. It highlights that investing in stocks with a 10% gain annually results in a 7% expansion of the money supply.
The policies promoting supply chain independence, energy policies, labor policies, trade policies to medical policies, every policy interferes with the free market's rational actor. Currency serves as an asset to move monetary energy around, and all government policies are generally inflationary and inflammatory.
The speaker discusses the flawed understanding of economics and money in society, citing that the low velocity of money and low inflation rate justify printing trillions of dollars, while the velocity of money through the crypto economy is 10,000 times faster than the consumer economy.
The majority of society goes along with the flawed economic system as they believe someone has their best interests, however, the understanding of energy, engineering, and economics is crippled by defective mental models. The half-life of money is 10 years, but it's only 3-4 years in weak societies and 1 year in Venezuela, making it important for economists to create simulations with the full array of assets.
The story of human history is that of engineering a better world, from someone grabbing the high point of a city 100,000 years ago to the concept of an absolute power and the ultimate goal of cooperation among humans.
The first order impact of technology is generally positive and has a greater impact than non-technology. Digitally transforming books and information is one of the many ways technology has changed society.
This podcast discusses how dematerialization can help solve problems in education, such as the abundance of algebra teachers. By allowing the best teachers to contribute to a natural selection process through open platforms such as YouTube, excellent educational content can be broadcast to billions of people, helping many to learn in different ways.
The speaker discusses the usefulness of studying fantasy literature when conceptualizing and dematerializing maps, citing examples of the challenges in the past and present of mapping.
The digital energy and information space present vast opportunities that are yet to be exploited, with hundreds of trillions of dollars worth of untapped potential across the sectors. Investment in creating solutions and addressing the need for digital energy stands to increase the net energy in the civilization, much like lucrative endeavors that generate wealth.
In this episode, the ethics of digital currencies and the possibility of creating new coins are discussed, along with the concept of digital energy and Satoshi's solution to maintain a constant supply of bitcoins.
This episode discusses the distinction between digital and physical property in terms of legal ownership and accessibility, with a focus on Bitcoin's classification as digital property.
Building a better world based on digital energy starts with constructing a digital property on layer one of Bitcoin. This layer serves as the property settlement layer and allows for a revolutionary breakthrough in creating a stable and long-lasting foundation.
This podcast episode discusses the difference between layer one and layer two in blockchain technology and their various use cases.
Exploring the benefits of implementing complexity, compliance, and customer service on layered solutions rather than on layer one for Bitcoin's scalability and security. With the big picture in mind, the goal is to serve billions with mobile phones and millions of companies handling billions of transactions an hour.
The issue of providing banking services to all people boils down to accessibility and local regulations; it may be necessary to promote the creation of local applications.
The debate centers around whether to create applications on top of Bitcoin or try to create a competitor to it that may be considered as a security by the Bitcoin community, particularly when it comes to financing a new application idea through token issuance.
The impact of Satoshi having a large amount of Bitcoin may undermine its digital property and cause conflicts of interest. However, the characteristics that make Bitcoin property were established over time due to various factors such as the block size wars.
Large acquisitions of Bitcoin by institutional investors are the most likely next step, with a focus on swapping out gold for digital gold as a treasury reserve asset. Many sovereign wealth funds could potentially see holding digital gold as a viable investment, similar to holding big tech.
The concept of self custody assets is gaining traction with the increasing awareness about the high level of security it provides. With the ongoing global shocks, people are considering converting their weak currency to stronger ones, such as Bitcoin, leading to a reduction in inflation costs.
As people begin to view digital property as a valuable asset class, its value is expected to rise substantially. Businesses will soon offer applications that enable individuals to use their digital property to secure a loan, generate yield, or build an income stream.
The ability to be verified on Twitter can be bought rather than earned through the payment of either ten or twenty dollars in Bitcoin which would then give the account an orange check, allowing exclusive access to direct messaging and post availability; which could encourage further transparency online.
The crypto market can be decomposed into crypto property and Bitcoin cannot be considered a currency since it does not fulfill the requirements of being a stable asset in a transaction without tax obligations.
The regulatory treatment of cryptocurrencies and crypto securities continues to be a challenge for the industry, including for DeFi and crypto exchanges. In this podcast, the discussion turns to whether Dogecoin qualifies as a cryptocurrency or a crypto property.
The crypto community, including entrepreneurs, are using Bitcoin for investment, for speculation, and as a digital privacy institutional-grade investable asset for public companies, figures, and investors who are risk-averse.
Kevin Kelly shares insights on the benefits of specialization and how it can lead to success in a world where generalists are often overshadowed.
In this podcast, the host and guest discuss the idea of immortal life for ideas and institutions and the admiration we should have for the struggles of those who came before us.
Michael Saylor discusses Bitcoin and its potential as a solution for the flaws in governance and energy systems. The conversation also focuses on his views on the role of technology in solving societal problems.