Pasado, presente y futuro del dinero: de las piedras al Bitcoin.
Una exploración completa y autorizada de Bitcoin y su lugar en la historia monetaria.
Cuando en 2008 un programador informático desconocido anunció que había creado un nuevo sistema de dinero electrónico con tecnología peer-to-peer (P2P), pocos prestaron atención. En la actualidad, el Bitcoin es ya una alternativa descentralizada a los bancos centrales y al dinero físico.
El patrón Bitcoin analiza el contexto histórico del surgimiento de esta nueva moneda, las propiedades económicas que la han permitido crecer rápidamente y sus implicaciones económicas, políticas y sociales.
El profesor y economista Saifedean Ammous explica, con afán pedagógico, la historia del dinero y expone por qué el futuro pertenece al Bitcoin, que, gracias a la tecnología blockchain, ofrece un servicio de pago confiable, seguro y llamado a plantar cara al monopolio de los bancos centrales.
Desde las piedras preciosas hasta las monedas de curso corriente, pasando por el patrón oro y las burbujas de expansión crediticia, la historia del dinero es la de crisis y rupturas que buscan ser superadas. Este libro argumenta por qué el Bitcoin puede llegar a ser la solución a este problema histórico.
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
Past, present and future of money: from stones to Bitcoin.
A comprehensive and authoritative exploration of Bitcoin and its place in monetary history.
When a pseudonymous programmer introduced "a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party" to a small online mailing list in 2008, very few people paid attention. Ten yearsT later, and against all odds, this upstart autonomous decentralized software offers an unstoppable and globally accessible hard money alternative to modern central banks. The Bitcoin Standard analyzes the historical context to the rise of Bitcoin, the economic properties that have allowed it to grow quickly, and its likely economic, political, and social implications.
he book moves on to explain the operation of Bitcoin in a functional and intuitive way. Bitcoin is a decentralized, distributed piece of software that converts electricity and processing power into indisputably accurate records, thus allowing its users to utilize the Internet to perform the traditional functions of money without having to rely on, or trust, any authorities or infrastructure in the physical world. Bitcoin is thus best understood as the first successfully implemented form of digital cash and digital hard money. With an automated and perfectly predictable monetary policy, and the ability to perform final settlement of large sums across the world in a matter of minutes, Bitcoin's real competitive edge might just be as a store of value and network for the final settlement of large payments―a digital form of gold with a built-in settlement infrastructure.
Ammous' firm grasp of the technological possibilities as well as the historical realities of monetary evolution provides for a fascinating exploration of the ramifications of voluntary free market money. As it challenges the most sacred of government monopolies, Bitcoin shifts the pendulum of sovereignty away from governments in favor of individuals, offering us the tantalizing possibility of a world where money is fully extricated from politics and unrestrained by borders.
The final chapter of the book explores some of the most common questions surrounding Bitcoin: Is Bitcoin mining a waste of energy? Is Bitcoin for criminals? Who controls Bitcoin, and can they change it if they please? How can Bitcoin be killed? And what to make of all the thousands of Bitcoin knockoffs, and the many supposed applications of Bitcoin's 'block chain technology'? The Bitcoin Standard is the essential resource for a clear understanding of the rise of the Internet's decentralized, apolitical, free-market alternative to national central banks.
