Uploaded October 2021 | Updated September 2026, 8 hours ago
In the early days of Bitcoin, a few idealistic individuals attempted to live entirely on the bitcoin currency. Nine years and an abundance of technological developments later, is an entirely closed-loop bitcoin economy possible, or even useful?
Join hosts Jonathan Mohan, Stephanie Murphy and Andreas M. Antonopoulos as they reflect on bitcoin’s evolution as a currency and commodity. In the early days, an era of retail adoption as merchants began to accept bitcoin from their customers seemed to point to a bright future for daily bitcoin use. The 2013 IRS addendum treating bitcoin as a commodity, rather than as a foreign currency, quickly made transactions a burden with onerous tax reporting requirements, dimming that retail bitcoin future.
In the time since, the crypto community has adopted a HODL mindset. Why spend bitcoin if it’s disinflationary in nature and will bring you more value in the future? Those idealistic individuals' dreams of bitcoin as a daily currency may no longer align with bitcoin's maturation.
Developments in layer 2 technology, like the Lightning Network, have allowed experiments in bitcoin as legal tender to be not only a possibility, but a pragmatic choice for governments like El Salvador’s. With news of Ukraine considering following in El Salvador’s footsteps, will clusters of closed-loop bitcoin life bloom around the world?
Do you have any questions or comments? Send us an email at adam@speakingofbitcoin.show
Today's show featured Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Stephanie Murphy and Jonathan Mohan. This episode was edited by Jonas, with music by Jared Rubens and Gurty Beats. Our album art is based off a photo by Ishan_@seefromthesky on Unsplash, modified by Speaking of Bitcoin
In the early days of Bitcoin, a few idealistic individuals attempted to live entirely on the bitcoin currency. Nine years and an abundance of technological developments later, is an entirely closed-loop bitcoin economy possible, or even useful?
Join hosts Jonathan Mohan, Stephanie Murphy and Andreas M. Antonopoulos as they reflect on bitcoin’s evolution as a currency and commodity. In the early days, an era of retail adoption as merchants began to accept bitcoin from their customers seemed to point to a bright future for daily bitcoin use. The 2013 IRS addendum treating bitcoin as a commodity, rather than as a foreign currency, quickly made transactions a burden with onerous tax reporting requirements, dimming that retail bitcoin future.
In the time since, the crypto community has adopted a HODL mindset. Why spend bitcoin if it’s disinflationary in nature and will bring you more value in the future? Those idealistic individuals' dreams of bitcoin as a daily currency may no longer align with bitcoin's maturation.
Developments in layer 2 technology, like the Lightning Network, have allowed experiments in bitcoin as legal tender to be not only a possibility, but a pragmatic choice for governments like El Salvador’s. With news of Ukraine considering following in El Salvador’s footsteps, will clusters of closed-loop bitcoin life bloom around the world?
Do you have any questions or comments? Send us an email at adam@speakingofbitcoin.show
Today's show featured Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Stephanie Murphy and Jonathan Mohan. This episode was edited by Jonas, with music by Jared Rubens and Gurty Beats. Our album art is based off a photo by Ishan_@seefromthesky on Unsplash, modified by Speaking of Bitcoin
![Should we attack Bitcoin? Is it Bitcoin or Bitcoins? Fractional Bitcoining? [2021]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WOXZIXAhFjk/mqdefault.jpg "Should we attack Bitcoin? Is it Bitcoin or Bitcoins? Fractional Bitcoining? [2021]
In this short video, youll learn about attacking bitcoin (should you do it?), whether its correct to say bitcoin or bitcoins, and much more. Four questions answered in four minutes. Watch and learn!
Chapters
0:00 What are we calling this crypto version of the dot com boom? BOOMDEMIC!
0:28 Should we try to attack bitcoin?
1:09 Which is correct Bitcoin of Bitcoins? Is there an s or not?!?
2:18 Are you concerned at all about the idea of fractional Bitcoining?
COMMENT below and let us know what you think of the video. Post your follow-up questions there too!
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BECOME a Community Builder: https://patreon.com/aantonop
LEARN from Andreas in one of his popular Workshops which will teach you practical crypto skills. There’s even a FREE Intro to Bitcoin & Open Blockchains to get you started. https://aantonop.io/takeaworkshop
You can also learn from one of aantonops many books about bitcoin, ethereum, and open blockchains. Andreas has written three technical books for developers about blockchain technology, Mastering Bitcoin, Mastering Ethereum, and Mastering the Lightning Network published by O’Reilly Media. He’s also written The Internet of Money Series books, which explain why bitcoin, ethereum, and open blockchains matter.
About aantonop: Andreas isnt promoting a company or an organization; hes paid by the community (people who support this work on Patreon and YouTube) and provides an unbiased look at open blockchain technologies, what they can do for our societies, and how to get involved (if you decide you want to). Learn more at https://aantonop.com
From Andreas: You may already know that my mission is to educate as many people as possible about #Bitcoin and open blockchain technologies. Watching these videos and sharing them with others is a big part of that. Thank you for being part of this mission.
***Learn More From Andreas**
Amazon & Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00MVAG8Z8
Audible: https://www.audible.com/author/Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/B00MVAG8Z8
E-books & Merch: https://aantonop.io/shop
Patreon: https://patreon.com/aantonop
Website: https://aantonop.com
Workshops: https://aantonop.com/workshops
***Connect with Andreas on Socials***
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreasMAntonopoulos
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amantonop/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aantonop/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aantonop
Thanks for watching, sharing, and subscribing!")
![Crypto Explained: What Are NFT or Non Fungible Tokens? Why Should I Care? [2021]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y-i9Jsm95ro/mqdefault.jpg "Crypto Explained: What Are NFT or Non Fungible Tokens? Why Should I Care? [2021]
Youve seen reports of NFT artwork selling for millions of US dollars in the mainstream media. But what is an NFT really? How are NFTs different from cryptocurrencies? What do you really own when you buy an NFT?
Chapters
0:00 What is an NFT or Non Fungible Token?
0:52 What is fungibility?
2:25 Programmable collectibles that have special features
3:04 Bragging rights!
4:05 Extra perks for owning NFTs, using them as an access token
4:48 Ownership and control over the asset
5:53 Can NFTs expire?
Link to ERC-721 Standard (this is just one resource to learn about NFT standards in Ethereum)
https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/standards/tokens/erc-721/
If youre interested in NFTs, you might want to take a look at Mastering Ethereum at https://aantonop.com/a-shop/
This video is an excerpt from the March 2021 open topic Q&A where aantonop covered questions related to NFTs, breaking bitcoin, and much more. Watch the entire video here: https://youtu.be/U0T49duRt74
COMMENT below and let us know what you think of the video. Post your follow-up questions there too!
SUBSCRIBE to this YouTube channel and select the bell 🔔 for notifications: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJWCJCWOxBYSi5DhCieLOLQ?sub_confirmation=1
JOIN this YouTube channel to become a YouTube Community Member and access custom emoji and other perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJWCJCWOxBYSi5DhCieLOLQ/join
BECOME a Community Builder: https://patreon.com/aantonop
LEARN from Andreas in one of his popular Workshops which will teach you practical crypto skills. There’s even a FREE Intro to Bitcoin & Open Blockchains to get you started. https://aantonop.io/takeaworkshop
You can also learn from one of aantonops many books. Andreas has written three technical books for developers about blockchain technology, Mastering Bitcoin, Mastering Ethereum, and Mastering the Lightning Network (2021) published by O’Reilly Media. He’s also written The Internet of Money Series books, which explain why bitcoin, ethereum, and open blockchains matter.
About aantonop: Andreas isnt promoting a company or an organization; hes paid by the community (people who support this work on Patreon and YouTube) and provides an unbiased look at open blockchain technologies, what they can do for our societies, and how to get involved (if you decide you want to). Learn more at https://aantonop.com
From Andreas: You may already know that my mission is to educate as many people as possible about #Bitcoin and open blockchain technologies. Watching these videos and sharing them with others is a big part of that. Thank you for being part of this mission.
***Learn More From Andreas’ Workshops, Books & Events**
Amazon & Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00MVAG8Z8
Audible: https://www.audible.com/author/Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/B00MVAG8Z8
E-books & Merch: https://aantonop.io/shop
Patreon: https://patreon.com/aantonop
Website: https://aantonop.com
Workshops: https://aantonop.com/workshops
***Connect with Andreas on Socials***
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreasMAntonopoulos
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amantonop/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aantonop/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aantonop
Thanks for watching, sharing, and subscribing!")
