Philosophy & Economics of Bitcoin

Yale-NUS College, Spring 2024

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Week 1: History and Purpose

Lecture: Why Bitcoin Matters

Key Themes

• Early cypherpunk history
• Digital money vs. digital cash, and properties of physical cash
• Three roles for trusted parties in traditional digital monetary systems – makers, mediators, and managers

Focal Readings

• Resistance Money, Chapter 1: 'Bitcoin's Genesis'
• Hughes, 'A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto'

Secondary Readings

• Beltramini, 'Against technocratic authoritarianism'
• Narayanan and Clark, 'Bitcoin’s Academic Pedigree'
• Bailey, Rettler, and Warmke, 'Why Bitcoin Needs Philosophy'
• Walch, 'In Coder(s) We Trust'
• Swartz, 'What Was Bitcoin?'
• De Filippi and Loveluck, 'The Invisible Politics of Bitcoin'

Reflections

1. 125 words or less: give a concrete example of how digital money could be used to surveil or control someone’s most personal decisions; be precise about who might do this, and why. How might the existence of trusted parties enable that surveillance or control?
2. 125 words or less: what are the main differences between the monetary mediator and monetary manager roles? Give examples of actors who fill both roles, and of those who fill exactly one.
3. 125 words or less: what are the main differences between extant digital monies and the sought-after ideal of digital cash?
4. 125 words or less: prepare exactly three critical discussion questions about any of the focal readings. For each question, be sure to include a specific quotation or citation to indicate how the readings prompt it, and one sentence about why it matters.

Practicum

• Launch your own bitcoin node (software freely available on bitcoin.org). If no one in your group has access to sufficient hardware or bandwidth, contact me immediately to discuss next steps. You may also install a bitcoin lighting wallet on a mobile device, if you wish (be careful to pay attention to whether it is custodial or non-custodial, and what that means). How much does all this cost, in terms of hardware and other ongoing expenses? What do you notice about these experiences, and how do they differ from those you’ve had with traditional banking software?
• Jamie Dimon (chief of JP Morgan) has recently opined that Satoshi could return and unilaterally increase bitcoin's supply. Using what you know about bitcoin so far, evaluate his claim.

Schedule

Tuesday 16 January
Welcome	Read the syllabus before coming to class
Friday 19 January
Readings	Do all of the focal readings carefully and in their entirety.
Practicum Assignment	Complete the assignment before class; be prepared to discuss your findings (this discussion may extend into our next class meeting as well). We'll discuss the second assignment together in class.
Reflections	Complete two of the four reflection assignments, and submit by midnight before class.