Episode
#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
4:02:28
Published: Thu Apr 14 2022
Description
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
Chapters
Scale is a platform that provides machine learning assisted data labeling for various tasks such as image, video, text annotation, and classification.
00:00 - 02:43 (02:43)
Summary
Scale is a platform that provides machine learning assisted data labeling for various tasks such as image, video, text annotation, and classification. It supports over 20 languages and is crucial for any data labeling task.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
02:43 - 11:38 (08:55)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
11:38 - 21:07 (09:29)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The conventional approach of equating inflation to government issued CPI, PCE, or PPI measure is flawed.
21:07 - 26:50 (05:42)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
26:50 - 36:11 (09:20)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
36:11 - 44:48 (08:37)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
44:48 - 52:09 (07:20)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
52:09 - 1:00:34 (08:25)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
1:00:34 - 1:10:35 (10:01)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The first order impact of technology is generally positive and has a greater impact than non-technology.
1:10:35 - 1:17:27 (06:51)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This podcast discusses how dematerialization can help solve problems in education, such as the abundance of algebra teachers.
1:17:27 - 1:26:17 (08:50)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
1:26:17 - 1:36:46 (10:29)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
1:36:46 - 1:45:18 (08:31)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
1:45:18 - 1:51:26 (06:08)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
1:51:26 - 1:59:51 (08:24)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Building a better world based on digital energy starts with constructing a digital property on layer one of Bitcoin.
1:59:51 - 2:06:33 (06:42)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This podcast episode discusses the difference between layer one and layer two in blockchain technology and their various use cases.
2:06:33 - 2:13:40 (07:06)
Summary
This podcast episode discusses the difference between layer one and layer two in blockchain technology and their various use cases.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Exploring the benefits of implementing complexity, compliance, and customer service on layered solutions rather than on layer one for Bitcoin's scalability and security.
2:13:40 - 2:21:16 (07:35)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
2:21:16 - 2:29:42 (08:26)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
2:29:42 - 2:40:46 (11:03)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The impact of Satoshi having a large amount of Bitcoin may undermine its digital property and cause conflicts of interest.
2:40:46 - 2:52:29 (11:42)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
2:52:29 - 3:00:46 (08:17)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The concept of self custody assets is gaining traction with the increasing awareness about the high level of security it provides.
3:00:47 - 3:07:46 (06:58)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
As people begin to view digital property as a valuable asset class, its value is expected to rise substantially.
3:07:46 - 3:16:46 (09:00)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
3:16:46 - 3:23:32 (06:46)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
3:23:32 - 3:31:21 (07:49)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The regulatory treatment of cryptocurrencies and crypto securities continues to be a challenge for the industry, including for DeFi and crypto exchanges.
3:31:21 - 3:37:01 (05:40)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
3:37:01 - 3:45:25 (08:23)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Kevin Kelly shares insights on the benefits of specialization and how it can lead to success in a world where generalists are often overshadowed.
3:45:25 - 3:50:25 (04:59)
Summary
Kevin Kelly shares insights on the benefits of specialization and how it can lead to success in a world where generalists are often overshadowed.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
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.
3:50:25 - 4:02:24 (11:59)
Summary
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.
Episode#276 – Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Michael Saylor discusses Bitcoin and its potential as a solution for the flaws in governance and energy systems.
4:02:24 - 4:03:05 (00:40)
Summary
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.