OPINIONATED: The Future Money Is Bitcoin and CBDCs, Feat. Nik Bhatia

05/01/21 • 48 min

This week, “Opinionated” co-hosts Ben Schiller, Anna Baydakova and Danny Nelson are talking to Nik Bhatia, an Adjunct Professor of Finance and Business Economics at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.

This episode is sponsored by hellointerpop.io and The Sun Exchange.

His book, "Layered Money: From Gold and Dollars to Bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies" is freshly in print this year, and Nik has plenty of bold and controversial ideas to share.

Nik recently wrote two thought-provoking op-eds for CoinDesk about the future of bitcoin. One of them, “Why $1 Million Bitcoin Is Coming” is a projection of forces affecting bitcoin’s upcoming growth. In particular, Nik believes MicroStrategy’s and Tesla’s bitcoin purchases resulted in big increases in bitcoin’s price – increases that he sees continuing as new companies and even central banks start buying in.

If we expected more big enterprises to join the party, are we looking at $1 million bitcoin? Or is it too bullish? Nik guided us through his journey of understanding bitcoin and why he thinks it will be a base layer to the future financial system.

Bitcoin’s volatility is not going anywhere in the future, Nik believes. But that shouldn’t stop traditional asset managers from buying it, because they are buying a share in the world’s financial future. And in this future, the national currencies might become central bank digital currencies (CBDC), and bitcoin will be a global standard to weigh against those national

We discuss these and more bold ideas, how people should invest in bitcoin and how the world will treat bitcoin in the years to come. Enjoy the conversation and definitely check out Nik’s pieces, “Why $1 Million Bitcoin Is Coming” and “Asset Managers, Owning Bitcoin Is Now Your Fiduciary Duty.”

Nik Bhatia’s Twitter handle is: @timevalueofbtc.

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This episode is sponsored by hellointerpop.io and The Sun Exchange.

His book, "Layered Money: From Gold and Dollars to Bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies" is freshly in print this year, and Nik has plenty of bold and controversial ideas to share.

Nik Bhatia’s Twitter handle is: @timevalueofbtc.

InterPop is redefining the future of NFTs and fandom. Learn more at interpop.io.

The Sun Exchange is offering CoinDesk Reports listeners a free solar cell with your first purchase and automatically lease them to power businesses in sunny, emerging markets.

Image credit: Gesrey/iStock/Getty Images Plus

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Previous Episode

OPINIONATED: Dogecoin’s Future, Beyond the Hype and Memes

This week, we’re shaking up “Opinionated’s” format and adding two more co-hosts, Anna Baydakova and Danny Nelson. And we’re joined by another CoinDesker, our managing editor of podcasts, Adam B. Levine.

This episode is sponsored by hellointerpop.io and The Sun Exchange.

Last week he wrote a column on the rise of dogecoin, “Dogecoin Is Not the Next Bitcoin – But Here Are the Similarities.” Dogecoin was created in 2013 on litecoin’s infrastructure, and didn’t command much attention until last year.

Adam has been in crypto for ages and has seen the rise and fall of many projects. Is he seriously hopeful for DOGE’s bright future, or just trolling? In any case, on this podcast Adam, Ben, Anna and Danny are doing their best to take DOGE as seriously as they can.

Adam’s point is clear: Crypto is all about consensus, and if a consensus forms around the idea that dogecoin is a good asset/digital money, why can’t it become really big and notable on the global financial scene?

Dogecoin already surpassed bitcoin in investment returns over the last seven years, as Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal ironically (?) noted in his recent newsletter.

People want predictable digital money that other people use as well. Can dogecoin become this one day?

Can DOGE evolve into some kind of reliable money system not pegged to any particular state and government? Or will crypto influencers and companies like Slim Jim just have fun with it for a while and then forget about it for another eternity?

Listen to Ben, Adam, Anna and Danny discuss both fun and serious things about dogecoin, all while having fun staying DOGE-poor.

And check out Adam’s op-ed here: Dogecoin Is Not the Next Bitcoin – But Here Are the Similarities.

Adam B Levine’s Twitter handle is @AdamBLevine.

InterPop is redefining the future of NFTs and fandom. Learn more at interpop.io

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Next Episode

OPINIONATED: Do We Really Need CBDCs?

This week, “Opinionated” co-hosts Ben Schiller, Anna Baydakova and Danny Nelson are talking to Christopher Giancarlo, former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and David Treat, senior managing director at Accenture, the co-founders of the Digital Dollar Project .

This episode is sponsored by hellointerpop.io, and The Sun Exchange.

The Digital Dollar Project recently announced plans for a slew of pilot projects that will show what the tokenized U.S. dollar can and can’t do. It’s not clear yet exactly what those pilots will be.

The global race for leadership in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) started with China charging forward with its digital yuan project and all other nations rushing to catch up. Giancarlo believes the U.S. shouldn’t miss a chance to set the standards for CBDCs globally. But is it enough to issue another CBDC to stop the digital yuan’s expansion?

Another important concern regarding CBDCs is privacy. Giancarlo and Treat believe the U.S. government will ensure the privacy of citizens’ transactions, in keeping with the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment. But what if the government is not the best guardian of personal information? We discuss the privacy concerns of CBDCs at length during this episode.

Finally, who needs CBDCs if we already have dollar-pegged stablecoins, some of which are regularly audited and regulated by the U.S.? Giancarlo does not fully trust the stablecoin issuers on the market now: “Who is the holder of a reserve bank account? What if the holder of that account absconds with the money?” he asked.

We discuss central bank digital currencies, and ask if we need this new form of money and how they will compete and integrate with private-sector initiatives, including USD-backed stablecoins.

Find Christopher Giancarlo and David Treat on Twitter: @giancarloMKTS and @DBTreat.

InterPop is redefining the future of NFTs and fandom. Learn more at interpop.io.

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