By @Anilsaidso
A brief comparison of Bitcoin and the current global reserve currency- the US Dollar.
Comparing the USD and Bitcoin across three dimensions:
Unit of Account: cent vs. satoshi
Settlement: Centralized/permissioned (i.e. SWIFT) vs. decentralized/permissionless
Monetary Policy: 12 member board meeting (8x/yr) vs. pre-determined, executed by code
'To maintain its value, money must be in limited supply. The Fed.. carefully calibrates the supply of dollars to promote stable prices and maximum employment. No central bank controls the supply of bitcoin.' -Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
REACHING CONSENSUS
USD- The FOMC consists of 12 members, holding 8 meetings annually + additional as needed. Committee membership changes at the 1st meeting of the year. The minutes are released 3 weeks after policy decisions.
BTC- Proof of Work
PURCHASING POWER
"That it is logical, fair and reasonable to maintain the purchasing power of an hour's work in terms of goods and services the employee must purchase in his daily living." -Charles E. Wilson (former CEO of GM and US Secretary of Defense)
TRANSACTION FEES
Int'l Wire Transfer vs. Bitcoin 'SWIFT is the way the world moves value. We do this every single instant of every single day, right across the world. No other organisation can address the scale, precision, pace and trust that this demands.' -SWIFT website
AUDIT
"The Fed's financial statements are also a matter of public record, and are audited annually by independent, outside auditors.. I am well aware of this because I chair the committees that have oversight responsibility for the audits." -Jerome Powell (2015)
About the author
Anil is an independent bitcoin educator based in Canada. He holds an MBA, CBP and was part of MIT's inaugural FinTech certificate cohort. He's guest-lectured at Business schools and launched the first Bitcoin-specific university scholarship in Canada. His focus is on simplifying concepts through visuals and storytelling to make bitcoin easier to comprehend.
You can follow him on Twitter @anilsaidso
You can pre-order his book below representing approximately 3,000 hours of research, teaching, writing and design in an effort to best communicate Bitcoin as a concept.
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