Avatar
henq
3c55ffabea641c0bc74b0261c8be57636538b84af0b71d6b926fa03fa42b166c
bitcoin, linux, nostr
Replying to Avatar Michael Wilkins

Over the past few days, I’ve been involved in a long debate about #Bitcoin, #money, and #economic growth. Below summarises the debate outside of the comments we have had back and forth.

What became clear is that most disagreements about Bitcoin are not really about Bitcoin.

They are about which economic framework you start from.

Two schools of thought

Most modern economics taught in universities today is derived from Keynesian and neo-Keynesian models.

In this framework:

• Money is a policy tool.

• Credit expansion is necessary for growth.

• Debt is not a problem if it funds activity.

• Inflation is tolerated, even encouraged, to stimulate spending.

• Economic health is measured primarily through GDP.

Within this model, a fixed supply monetary system looks dangerous.

If money cannot expand, the assumption is that growth will stall, liquidity will dry up, and the system will collapse under its own weight.

This is why many people instinctively conclude that Bitcoin “cannot work” as money.

There is another school of thought, often referred to as classical or Austrian economics, which starts from different assumptions. This is where Bitcoiners sit.

In this framework:

• Money is a measuring tool, not a control mechanism.

•Growth comes from productivity, innovation, and efficient coordination of capital.

• Credit should emerge from real savings, not monetary expansion.

• Inflation distorts price signals and transfers wealth.

• Falling prices due to productivity are a feature, not a failure.

From this perspective, a fixed or hard monetary base is not a limitation.

It is a discipline.

Why universities teach what they teach

Modern states operate on debt-based monetary systems. Governments, banks, and institutions depend on the ability to expand the money supply.

It is therefore not surprising that:

• Economic models that justify managed money dominate academia.

• Models that limit state discretion are treated as historical or impractical.

• Monetary failure is usually framed as “policy error,” not systemic design.

This doesn’t require malice or conspiracy.

Systems tend to teach what sustains them.

Historical evidence is often misread

Empires did not collapse because money was “too hard.”

They collapsed because money was debased.

• Rome did not fall under a fixed monetary system. It progressively reduced silver content in its coinage to fund military and state spending. Trust eroded, prices rose, and economic coordination broke down.

• Weimar Germany did not fail due to hard money, but due to rapid monetary expansion to service war debts.

• Zimbabwe did not collapse because of sanctions alone. Monetary issuance was used to paper over structural collapse, destroying the currency.

• Time and again, monetary expansion is used as a short-term solution that creates long-term instability.

Hard money systems did not “fail.”

They were abandoned when political constraints became inconvenient.

Where Bitcoin fits

Bitcoin does not ban credit.

It bans base-layer monetary manipulation.

Its base layer is slow by design because it prioritises final settlement, not throughput. This is not new. Gold functioned the same way for centuries. Higher layers always emerged on top of sound settlement layers.

Bitcoin separates:

• Money from policy

• Settlement from payments

• Value storage from discretionary issuance

When people argue that Bitcoin must adopt inflation, tail emissions, or permanent issuance to “support growth,” they are assuming growth must come from monetary expansion.

Bitcoin challenges that assumption.

It forces growth to come from:

• Better coordination

• Better incentives

• Better productivity

Why the disagreement persists

If you believe:

• Money must be managed

• Growth requires issuance

• Stability comes from flexibility

Bitcoin looks flawed.

If you believe:

• Money should constrain power

• Growth should reflect reality

• Stability comes from rules

Bitcoin looks inevitable.

This is not a debate about intelligence, credentials, or good intentions.

It is a debate about what money is allowed to do.

Bitcoin did not create this disagreement.

It simply made it impossible to ignore.

Very good concise summary Keynesian vs Austrian ! Will use it 🤓

BITCOIN’s Stock-to-Flow ratio is about 114 at the moment, and growing the coming years.

GOLD’s S2F ratio is about 80 and will keep incrementing, albeit more slowly.

SILVER’s S2F ratio is difficult to assess, as it’s stock is difficult to determine, as much silver is consumed by industries rather than stocked.

Anything between 50 down to 20 or less

That’s why I suspect silver’s current rally may be short lived.

Brent Hecht:

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4358031-silvers-stock-to-flow-ratio-and-why-it-matters [2020]

Sounds familiar, no?

“[X Chat] uses a sort of peer to peer based encryption system, similar to #Bitcoin. “

https://fixupx.com/bitcoin_teddy/status/2003224780393316422?s=46

“When you leave law making to the police, you should not be surprised if you end up in a police state” — CEO of Proton

[my translation from German]

https://www.nzz.ch/technologie/proton-ceo-andy-yen-wer-gesetzgebung-der-polizei-ueberlaesst-sollte-sich-nicht-wundern-wenn-er-eines-tages-in-einem-polizeistaat-aufwacht-ld.1916779

AFUERA !

nostr:note1uarswjq5yal7jgzcd2hye0r6pclqn46d79mxg03zv9l6wht4w2wqd3e23n

GM ehhh… Frens?

#Bluesky needs no age verification says the EU, meanwhile X gets fines…

https://youtu.be/vPHG-P7GQIk

Minister of deregulation of Argentina, Federico Sturzenegger, is in The Hague

**Roblox Requires AGE CHECKS for Communication, Ushering in New Safety Standard**

Assigns Users of Similar Age Groups for Chat and Limits Interaction Between Minors and Adults

https://corp.roblox.com/newsroom/2025/11/roblox-requires-age-checks-limits-minor-and-adult-chat

"Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez DEMANDS the END of online anonymity — calling for every social media account, Nostr included, to be linked to an EU Digital ID Wallet. At the World Economic Forum, Sánchez declared: “No one can walk the streets with a mask — so why allow people to roam online without revealing their identity?” #WEF

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jaimejrod_spanish-pm-pedro-s%C3%A1nchez-demands-the-end-activity-7394362048715034624-WG4t

You are entitled to any of my opinions!

GN, heeft iemand nog een ticket over voor de Noderunners™ conferentie op 1 November?

But a relay and / or client app can choose to function as an archive and ignore the expiration, I assume ?

I am a 100% BTC Maximalist but at the same time I think private companies should be allowed to create credit out of thin air, its what the free market wants.

But no lender of last resort/ central bank.

In short, 19th century Free Banking.