Jason Williams, one of crypto’s most prominent advocates, is known for his endless Bitcoin spot buys, exotic cars, shiny ski glasses, and insistence that you never sell your Bitcoin. He wrote a number one bestseller that I just finished reading over the holidays and couldn’t wait to talk about. Titled, Bitcoin: Hard Money You Can’t F*ck With, it makes a strong case as to why Bitcoin will be the next global reserve currency, which I intend to review here. The title is also a reference to Wu Tang, so I was easily hooked.
I read the book in 4 days – a huge win by any measure. My largest concern reading any book about crypto is that I’ll be bogged down with old news. This wasn’t the case at all with Jason’s book. As the title implies, his writing style is brash, assertive, and concise. This works well in a book that makes the case that magic internet money is going to take over the world, which is a tough sell. The argument resonates well because readers are spoon-fed the evidence from start to finish, from the history of money, modern-day economics and monetary policy, to forward-looking global outcomes. Jason’s best-selling point is his ability to quickly dive deeply into detail and jump out without boring readers, leaving them with concrete knowledge that overall furthers the Bitcoin narrative. I’ll give an example in the next paragraph of my favorite part of the book – incoming spoiler alert!
In the case for Bitcoin to be considered money, Jason established the idea that money is nothing more than agreed-upon value. To make this case, he took readers into a prison cell, moments before a violent massacre occurred. Seconds before blood was shed, an odd currency literally saved the day and potentially the lives of multiple cellmate – ramen, the pre-packaged 1-dollar noodles that are sold in a massive block at any grocery store. Ramen is the currency of choice in U.S. federal prisons. In Jason’s words, “ramen is a store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account.” Furthermore, Jason took the time to outline all of ramen’s qualities. It is “durable (instant noodles don’t perish), it comes in a standard unit, it’s fungible (each packet of ramen is identical and therefore equally valuable), it’s light and portable, it’s non-forgeable (you can’t recreate a packet of ramen) it’s desirable, and it has intrinsic value (inmates want to eat it because the main prison food sucks). Money is simply what people believe it to be. For someone new to the Bitcoin world, this was a compelling argument to help make that mental leap for the first time.
Warning, more spoilers ahead. Chapter 18 was an absolute killing spree aimed at the belief that our global monetary policy is sustainable, specifically with regards to the exit from the gold standard in 1971. I knew that the transition off the gold standard was a disaster, but I didn’t realize how serious of an issue it was until reading this section. Jason shared a number of charts, (yes, the book includes images, and they are extremely helpful for visual learners) on the impact 1971 carried for wages, income inequality, inflation, and currency crashes. The picture isn’t pretty. Jason shows all four of those trends and circles 1971 on the graph to visually prove how terrible of a decision it was to exit the gold standard. Beyond the immediate effects, there were also indirect effects that are equally as serious. It was around 1971 that political polarization began to take place and incarceration rates took a parabolic upswing. Jason links all of this with the idea that money connects everything and everyone. As he puts it, “if you f*ck with the money, you f*ck with the world.” After reading the book, I have become more convinced that we need Bitcoin, and the possibility of it becoming a world reserve currency is within reach.
Rather than concluding with my own clever punchline or finishing statement, I wanted to share Jason’s final words.
“And one-by-one, people will opt out of the spyware digital currencies forced on them by their governments. They’ll reject infinite money printing, the relentless debasement of their money, and the inequality it causes. They’ll convene around one, neutral, independent currency, with fair rules for all. No more devaluation. No more confiscations or censorship. The ultimate digital money for a digital world. The people will choose Bitcoin. Hard money you can’t f*ck with.”
Congrats Jason and cheers to your success!
Now go buy his book and tell him Scott sent you!