Episode
#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
2:32:33
Published: Thu Apr 01 2021
Description
Nic Carter is a financial researcher, investor, writer, and podcaster on topics of decentralized finance. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - The Information: https://theinformation.com/lex to get 75% off first month - Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/lex and use code LEX to get 1 month of fish oil - Four Sigmatic: https://foursigmatic.com/lex and use code LexPod to get up to 60% off - Blinkist: https://blinkist.com/lex and use code LEX to get 25% off premium EPISODE LINKS: Nic's Twitter: https://twitter.com/nic__carter Nic's Website: https://niccarter.info/ Nic's Blog: https://medium.com/@nic__carter Nic's Podcast: https://onthebrink-podcast.com/ 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 (13:05) - Can humans fully understand reality? (15:34) - The dollar system (21:44) - Bitcoin (23:19) - Opendime (27:22) - Core values of Bitcoin (35:51) - Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? (41:39) - How Bitcoin works (50:02) - Bitcoin blocksize wars (1:02:27) - Layered scaling of Bitcoin (1:07:25) - Lightning network (1:10:25) - Schnorr/Taproot update to Bitcoin (1:15:17) - Criticisms of Bitcoin (1:25:04) - Bitcoin failure modes (1:33:07) - Bitcoin vs Ethereum (1:37:03) - Vitalik Buterin (1:39:56) - Creative destruction (1:44:51) - Future of Bitcoin (1:48:38) - Tesla, Elon Musk, and Dogecoin (1:56:44) - NFTs (2:04:00) - Bitcoin maximalism (2:10:37) - On writing (2:16:37) - Writing a book on Bitcoin (2:21:07) - Bitcoin resources (2:23:57) - Book recommendations (2:25:56) - Advice for young people (2:29:13) - Meaning of life
Chapters
In this episode, the host sits down with Nick Carter to explore the world of cryptocurrency and the potential of decentralized finance.
00:00 - 05:16 (05:16)
Summary
In this episode, the host sits down with Nick Carter to explore the world of cryptocurrency and the potential of decentralized finance. They discuss the technical and philosophical aspects of Bitcoin and how it could lead to a global decentralization of power, giving individuals more sovereignty and creating more resilient systems.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The speaker shares his concern about the style of discourse among some Bitcoin maximalists on platforms like Twitter that are not conducive to nuanced and empathetic exchange of ideas, and his support for quiet, thoughtful, empathetic voices to be heard and exchange ideas whether they agree or disagree.
05:16 - 14:06 (08:50)
Summary
The speaker shares his concern about the style of discourse among some Bitcoin maximalists on platforms like Twitter that are not conducive to nuanced and empathetic exchange of ideas, and his support for quiet, thoughtful, empathetic voices to be heard and exchange ideas whether they agree or disagree.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This podcast episode explores the modern critique of economics and central banking, questioning whether there are malevolent people with bad intent in the system, and discussing the limitations of predicting economic outcomes.
14:06 - 19:12 (05:05)
Summary
This podcast episode explores the modern critique of economics and central banking, questioning whether there are malevolent people with bad intent in the system, and discussing the limitations of predicting economic outcomes.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The belief that some people are inherently better than others can lead to detrimental effects, especially when applied to government and central banking.
19:12 - 23:29 (04:16)
Summary
The belief that some people are inherently better than others can lead to detrimental effects, especially when applied to government and central banking.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Bitcoin faces a dilemma on whether to remain a low fee P2P payment system or become a digital commodity that settles infrequently between institutions as it proposes a non-discretionary monetary policy that aims to emulate cash-like instruments for transactions.
23:29 - 29:29 (05:59)
Summary
Bitcoin faces a dilemma on whether to remain a low fee P2P payment system or become a digital commodity that settles infrequently between institutions as it proposes a non-discretionary monetary policy that aims to emulate cash-like instruments for transactions.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The public key cryptography and the fact that you can encode a Bitcoin private key in 12 words gives it political power, empowering people relative to a despot.
29:29 - 35:56 (06:27)
Summary
The public key cryptography and the fact that you can encode a Bitcoin private key in 12 words gives it political power, empowering people relative to a despot. However, the fear of self-preservation and the involvement of money can lead to dogmatic behavior from individuals involved in cryptocurrency.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The risk management crowd wants to know about Satoshi Nakamoto's identity as a risk factor for Bitcoin, considering the potential for undesirable political opinions.
35:56 - 42:25 (06:29)
Summary
The risk management crowd wants to know about Satoshi Nakamoto's identity as a risk factor for Bitcoin, considering the potential for undesirable political opinions. Privileged access to the money is possible via "Cantillon insiders."
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Bitcoin is a replicated ledger that globally shared and maintained by participants to ensure its validity with physical world checks done by node operators while miners assemble transactions into blocks with economic incentives to behave correctly.
42:25 - 50:29 (08:03)
Summary
Bitcoin is a replicated ledger that globally shared and maintained by participants to ensure its validity with physical world checks done by node operators while miners assemble transactions into blocks with economic incentives to behave correctly.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The 2017 Bitcoin hard fork created a clone of the original Bitcoin with an alternative future.
50:29 - 1:00:07 (09:38)
Summary
The 2017 Bitcoin hard fork created a clone of the original Bitcoin with an alternative future. Small blockers want to scale Bitcoin with a layered approach while large blockers prefer a larger block size for transactions.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Bitcoin serves as the slow-moving high assurance final settlement network, while Lightning provides an overlay network for faster and less frictional transactions without the need for periodic settlement.
1:00:07 - 1:11:03 (10:55)
Summary
Bitcoin serves as the slow-moving high assurance final settlement network, while Lightning provides an overlay network for faster and less frictional transactions without the need for periodic settlement. Visa and other payment systems ultimately depend on utility-scale settlement systems like Fedwire and ACH.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Privacy and scaling are two sides of the same coin when it comes to Bitcoin, and removing data from the ledger can provide more transactional privacy.
1:11:03 - 1:18:36 (07:33)
Summary
Privacy and scaling are two sides of the same coin when it comes to Bitcoin, and removing data from the ledger can provide more transactional privacy. Additionally, making protocol changes to Bitcoin could lead to more efficient multi-signature transactions.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Bitcoin mining consumes a large percentage of the world's energy, which is not being produced near population centers and is not corresponding to the peaks and troughs of our consumption, making it a wasteful use of energy resources.
1:18:36 - 1:27:57 (09:21)
Summary
Bitcoin mining consumes a large percentage of the world's energy, which is not being produced near population centers and is not corresponding to the peaks and troughs of our consumption, making it a wasteful use of energy resources.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
It's difficult to distribute coins through airdrops due to potential capital and resource advantages from mining and the risk of a land grab by investment firms.
1:27:58 - 1:32:40 (04:42)
Summary
It's difficult to distribute coins through airdrops due to potential capital and resource advantages from mining and the risk of a land grab by investment firms. This creates difficulty in the potential adoption of the system as a global currency.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The decentralized and dispersed nature of Bitcoin makes it difficult for competing cryptocurrencies like Ethereum to match its credibility.
1:32:40 - 1:37:37 (04:56)
Summary
The decentralized and dispersed nature of Bitcoin makes it difficult for competing cryptocurrencies like Ethereum to match its credibility. However, both systems benefit from the integration of the other as Bitcoin serves as a good form of collateral on the Ethereum network.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
In this episode, the speaker discusses the tradeoffs that policymakers make when they bail out a specific contract that has failed, violating the core protocol rules, rather than letting it fail and causing short term pain.
1:37:37 - 1:43:41 (06:04)
Summary
In this episode, the speaker discusses the tradeoffs that policymakers make when they bail out a specific contract that has failed, violating the core protocol rules, rather than letting it fail and causing short term pain.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The guest on the podcast discusses the possibility of Bitcoin becoming the base layer for financial operations and being used as a reserve asset, even by large institutions such as banks and Visa.
1:43:41 - 1:49:01 (05:19)
Summary
The guest on the podcast discusses the possibility of Bitcoin becoming the base layer for financial operations and being used as a reserve asset, even by large institutions such as banks and Visa. Price targets are not discussed, but one possible scenario for Bitcoin reaching a million dollars is presented.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The emergence of meme coins like Dogecoin served as an entry point for people into the digital currency space, allowing them to explore and have fun.
1:49:01 - 2:01:57 (12:56)
Summary
The emergence of meme coins like Dogecoin served as an entry point for people into the digital currency space, allowing them to explore and have fun. While the cryptocurrency world continues to search for what will take over the market, meme coins are still being used as both a mechanism for investment and for entertainment purposes.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The speaker shares their experience with different communities, highlighting the importance of effective communication free of pride and vanity.
2:01:57 - 2:12:01 (10:03)
Summary
The speaker shares their experience with different communities, highlighting the importance of effective communication free of pride and vanity. They stress the need to form an efficient channel for communicating ideas within a community.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Our desire to impress others with our vocabulary and writing skills can interfere with clear communication.
2:12:01 - 2:17:31 (05:30)
Summary
Our desire to impress others with our vocabulary and writing skills can interfere with clear communication. This tension is perpetuated by our appreciation for complex language and the peacock-style display it creates, which values appearance over substance.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The crypto space is filled with interesting and innovative people, who are often considered "weirdos".
2:17:31 - 2:23:11 (05:39)
Summary
The crypto space is filled with interesting and innovative people, who are often considered "weirdos". However, it is these brilliant and unique individuals who are making strides in the industry, as seen in books such as "Layered Money" by Nick Batia.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This episode delves into the complexities of offering advice in a world where success is often defined by luck and chance encounters.
2:23:11 - 2:29:06 (05:55)
Summary
This episode delves into the complexities of offering advice in a world where success is often defined by luck and chance encounters. The guest emphasizes the importance of taking risks and actively seeking feedback as a means to grow and progress in one's career.
Episode#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The Bitcoin ideology believes that it can create a new monetary system from scratch and compete with strong superpowers.
2:29:06 - 2:32:13 (03:06)
Summary
The Bitcoin ideology believes that it can create a new monetary system from scratch and compete with strong superpowers. Working in a field where your passion becomes a job is incredibly inspiring, especially when it comes to Bitcoin.