UNSCRYPTED
Episode 14: Bitcoin – A Swiss Bank In Everyone’s Pocket
Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a best-selling author, speaker, educator, and one of the world’s foremost bitcoin and open blockchain experts.
Follow on Twitter: @aantonop
Website: https://aantonop.com/
In “Bitcoin: A Swiss Bank in Everyone’s Pocket,” Andreas examines the morality of technology and the politics of fear, including former President Barack Obama’s infamous statement that broad adoption of cryptography and cryptocurrencies would be like having “a Swiss bank account your pocket.” In the last episode, he questioned the viability of Facebook’s Libra project. Now he analyses how the same fear mongering is being used to target journalists and whistleblowers who use these tools to expose war crimes. Once we equip more people around the world with the equivalent of a Swiss bank in their pocket, the overwhelming majority would use it to pursue happiness, healthcare, and a better life for their children.
This talk took place on June 23rd 2019 at the Volkshaus for the Swiss Bitcoin Meetup in Zurich, Switzerland.
This series is called ‘Unscrypted’ for a reason: all of Andreas’ talks are performed without slides or notes. You can find any necessary corrections and clarifications in the podcast description.
Credits: The narration for this episode was done by Stephanie Murphy. Production support from Erica and Jessica. Video editing by Adrian Tano. Sound engineering by Dimitris Angelidis of Sampi Media. Logo design by Davi Barker. The music is called “Unbounded” by Orfan.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:18 — 24.6MB)
CORRECTIONS:
At 3:30, Andreas quotes former President Obama’s keynote at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in 2016. While the quote was interpreted to have an impact on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, Obama was not specifically talking about cryptocurrencies. Instead, the statement was made in the context of the Apple vs. FBI legal battle, and whether consumer devices like the iPhone should have strong encryption that the government can’t crack.
ORIGINAL VIDEO:
“Bitcoin: A Swiss Bank in Everyone’s Pocket” – https://youtu.be/kqsmCUo3xEQ
PREVIOUS EPISODES:
- “Introduction to Bitcoin” – https://aantonop.com/introduction-to-bitcoin/
- “The Stories We Tell About Money” – https://aantonop.com/the-stories-we-tell-about-money/
- “Forkology: A Study of Forks for Newbies” – https://aantonop.com/forkology/
- “Streaming Money” – https://aantonop.com/streaming-money/
- “The Currency Wars” – https://aantonop.com/the-currency-wars/
- “Escaping the Global Banking Cartel” – https://aantonop.com/escaping-the-global-banking-cartel/
- “Money as a System of Control” – https://aantonop.com/money-as-a-system-of-control/
- “Worse than Useless: Financial Surveillance” – https://aantonop.com/worse-than-useless/
- “Picking the Right Blockchain for the Job” – https://aantonop.com/picking-the-right-blockchain-for-the-job/
- “Another Brick in the Firewall” – https://aantonop.com/another-brick-in-the-firewall/
- “Universal Access to Basic Finance” – https://aantonop.com/universal-access-to-basic-finance/
- “The Killer App: Bananas on the Blockchain?” – https://aantonop.com/the-killer-app-bananas-on-the-blockchain/
- “Libre Not Libra: Facebook’s Blockchain Project” – https://aantonop.com/libre-not-libra-facebooks-blockchain-project/
NEXT EPISODE:
“Outside the Golden Cage of Banking” – https://aantonop.com/outside-the-golden-cage-of-banking/
SUPPORT:
Want early-access to talks? Monthly live Q&As with Andreas? Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/aantonop
BOOKS:
MASTERING BITCOIN, 2nd Edition: https://amzn.to/2xcdsY9
THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v1: https://amzn.to/2ykmXFs
Audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Internet-of-Money-Audiobook/B071KXKQD7
THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v2: https://amzn.to/2IIG5BJ
Audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Internet-of-Money-Audiobook/B077Z8VWKM
Spanish, ‘Internet del Dinero’ (v1) – https://amzn.to/2yoaTTq
German, ‘Das Internet des Geldes’ (v1) – https://amzn.to/2LEiyqO
German, ‘Das Internet des Geldes’ (v2) – https://amzn.to/2VCzse5
French, ‘L’internet de l’argent’ (v1) – https://www.amazon.fr/Linternet-largent-Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/dp/2856083390
Russian, ‘Интернет денег’ (v1) – https://www.olbuss.ru/catalog/ekonomika-i-biznes/korporativnye-finansy-bankovskoe-delo/internet-deneg
Vietnamese, ‘Internet Của Tiền Tệ’ (v1) – https://alphabooks.vn/khi-tien-len-mang
MASTERING ETHEREUM: https://amzn.to/2xdxmlK
