#173 – Nic Carter: Bitcoin Core Values, Layered Scaling, and Blocksize Debates

About this episode

<p>Nic Carter is a financial researcher, investor, writer, and podcaster on topics of decentralized finance. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:<br /> &#8211; <b>The Information</b>: <a href="https://theinformation.com/lex">https://theinformation.com/lex</a> to get 75% off first month<br /> &#8211; <b>Athletic Greens</b>: <a href="https://athleticgreens.com/lex">https://athleticgreens.com/lex</a> and use code LEX to get 1 month of fish oil<br /> &#8211; <b>Four Sigmatic</b>: <a href="https://foursigmatic.com/lex">https://foursigmatic.com/lex</a> and use code LexPod to get up to 60% off<br /> &#8211; <b>Blinkist</b>: <a href="https://blinkist.com/lex">https://blinkist.com/lex</a> and use code LEX to get 25% off premium</p> <p><b>EPISODE LINKS:</b><br /> Nic&#8217;s Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/nic__carter">https://twitter.com/nic__carter</a><br /> Nic&#8217;s Website: <a href="https://niccarter.info/">https://niccarter.info/</a><br /> Nic&#8217;s Blog: <a href="https://medium.com/@nic__carter">https://medium.com/@nic__carter</a><br /> Nic&#8217;s Podcast: <a href="https://onthebrink-podcast.com/">https://onthebrink-podcast.com/</a></p> <p><b>PODCAST INFO:</b><br /> Podcast website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a><br /> Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a><br /> Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a><br /> RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a><br /> YouTube Full Episodes: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexfridman">https://youtube.com/lexfridman</a><br /> YouTube Clips: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexclips">https://youtube.com/lexclips</a></p> <p><b>SUPPORT &#38; CONNECT:</b><br /> &#8211; Check out the sponsors above, it&#8217;s the best way to support this podcast<br /> &#8211; Support on Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman">https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/lexfridman">https://twitter.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman">https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman">https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Medium: <a href="https://medium.com/@lexfridman">https://medium.com/@lexfridman</a></p> <p><b>OUTLINE:</b><br /> Here&#8217;s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.<br /> (00:00) &#8211; Introduction<br /> (13:05) &#8211; Can humans fully understand reality?<br /> (15:34) &#8211; The dollar system<br /> (21:44) &#8211; Bitcoin<br /> (23:19) &#8211; Opendime<br /> (27:22) &#8211; Core values of Bitcoin<br /> (35:51) &#8211; Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?<br /> (41:39) &#8211; How Bitcoin works<br /> (50:02) &#8211; Bitcoin blocksize wars<br /> (1:02:27) &#8211; Layered scaling of Bitcoin<br /> (1:07:25) &#8211; Lightning network<br /> (1:10:25) &#8211; Schnorr/Taproot update to Bitcoin<br /> (1:15:17) &#8211; Criticisms of Bitcoin<br /> (1:25:04) &#8211; Bitcoin failure modes<br /> (1:33:07) &#8211; Bitcoin vs Ethereum<br /> (1:37:03) &#8211; Vitalik Buterin<br /> (1:39:56) &#8211; Creative destruction<br /> (1:44:51) &#8211; Future of Bitcoin<br /> (1:48:38) &#8211; Tesla, Elon Musk, and Dogecoin<br /> (1:56:44) &#8211; NFTs<br /> (2:04:00) &#8211; Bitcoin maximalism<br /> (2:10:37) &#8211; On writing<br /> (2:16:37) &#8211; Writing a book on Bitcoin<br /> (2:21:07) &#8211; Bitcoin resources<br /> (2:23:57) &#8211; Book recommendations<br /> (2:25:56) &#8211; Advice for young people<br /> (2:29:13) &#8211; Meaning of life</p>