History

Philosophy

Crypto Is the Libertarian Cheat Code in the Final Battle Over State Coercion

Brady DaleFeb 4, 2021

A normie Mario fights Bowser to save Princess Peach; a libertarian Mario builds her an escape hatch.

Privacy

Cypherpunk, Crypto Anarchy and How Bitcoin Lost the Narrative

Brady DaleNov 24, 2020

The crypto industry tends to give "cypherpunk" vibes a great deal of lip service without much attention to their real values.

Inflation

Nobody Saw Inflation Coming in the 1960s, but It Could Be Back: Economist

Damanick DantesMar 16, 2021

Very few of today's bond portfolio managers and traders can remember the last inflation shock, but that does not make a new shock less likely.

Podcasts

A (Not Quite) Complete History of Money, Feat. Planet Money’s Jacob Goldstein

Nathaniel WhittemoreNov 3, 2020

One of the hosts of NPR’s legendary “Planet Money” takes us on a whirlwind tour of some of the key moments of money history in the last 1,000 years.

Podcasts

8 Historical Analogies That Help Explain the Madness of 2020

Nathaniel WhittemoreSep 4, 2020

From the U.S. presidential elections of 1896 to the dot-com bubble to housing markets in 2006, these historical moments help us make sense of a truly WTF year.

History

Ethereum at Five

Ethereum History in 5 Charts

Christine KimShuai Hao

Five years ago this week, the first general-purpose blockchain went live on its mainnet. Here are five charts for understanding Ethereum's evolution.

Podcasts

‘Minsky Moments’ and the Financial History of Pandemics

Nathaniel Whittemore

As a wobbly recovery tries to take hold, was the coronavirus pandemic simply the pinprick on a larger economic bubble?

History

Is Bitcoin in 2020 Really Like the Early Internet?

Leigh Cuen

Bitcoin may be behind the internet’s timeline in terms of commercial use cases, but it has already achieved comparable social functions.

History

Reid Hoffman’s New ‘Hamilton’-Inspired Crypto Rap Video Is Straight Fire

Brady Dale

The LinkedIn co-founder teamed up with notable YouTubers to drop a battle rap between Alexander Hamilton and Satoshi Nakamoto. Who wins?

Environment

Why Bitcoin is the Petroleum of Our Time

Tuur Demeester

Crypto-entrepreneurs are making waves in heavily-regulated territory, just like in the early days of petroleum, argues economist Tuur Demeester.

Berlin

The Evolution of Bitcoin, from Behind a Berlin Bar

Jona Kallgren

Celebrating three years accepting bitcoin, bar owner Joerg Platzer reflects on bitcoin's evolutionary changes from the merchants' side.

History

What can bitcoin learn from the failure of ‘global’ language Esperanto?

Tom Higginson

CoinDesk takes a look at Esperanto, an invented worldwide language, and the similarities it holds with digital currencies.