A Letter to Ezra Klein:
I’ve become a regular listener to your podcast over the past year. I think you do a good job of extending yourself, your show and your guests beyond the mainstream liberal bubble. You create space for challenging viewpoints and avoid conforming to popular opinions. However, I think you may have a blind spot for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin was a large, mostly unrecognized influence in the 2024 election cycle. I felt one or two steps ahead of everyone in the media because I was paying attention to the voices in the Bitcoin space via podcasts and the Bitcoin-friendly social media network, Nostr.
I would encourage you to dedicate a show to Bitcoin and really dig into it, in a way that the New York Times hasn’t so far. Here are just a few things I think you will learn:
• Bitcoin should not be conflated with “Crypto”. There’s Bitcoin, and then there are thousands of other cryptocurrencies, most of them being outright get-rich-quick scams or ill-conceived attempts to replicate the success of bitcoin. The common misunderstandings of Bitcoin exist because mainstream media fails to differentiate between Bitcoin and Crypto and instead always lumps them into the same category.
• Despite being widely misunderstood, Bitcoin’s social influence has grown exponentially. Anyone listening to Bitcoin podcasts or reading about Bitcoin in 2023-2024 would have known that Trump was going to win the election. Bitcoiners were predicting the Joe Biden withdrawal months before his debate debacle. Bitcoiners had early hunches about Trump and RFK junior teaming up. Bitcoiners had huge political influence in 2024, something that has not been reported on in a serious way in any mainstream media outlet.
• Serious Bitcoiners are not the libertarian / tech bro caricatures they’re portrayed as. They are more politically practical than they are partisan. They are human rights activists. They are well-versed in macro economics. They have values rooted in family, fairness, conservative spending and saving for the future. They have long term outlooks. They preach humility and responsibility.
For the past 15 years, Bitcoiners have been watching their predictions for the asset come true over and over. Bitcoin has grown to a $2T market cap. Bitcoin is now held by the biggest financial institutions the US, such as Black Rock and Fidelity. Nations such as El Salvador and the Bhutan are actively stockpiling bitcoin. US Senators have proposed a bill to create a US National Bitcoin Reserve.
It’s growing influence is undeniable, which is why you owe it to your audience to report on Bitcoin with honesty, curiosity and an open mind.
Some great places to start:
The Bitcoin Policy Institute
https://www.btcpolicy.org/
Rabbit Hole Recap with Matt Odell and Marty Bent
https://rhr.tv/
What Bitcoin Did with Danny Knowles
https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/
verly
npub1a2…e7dn7
2025-01-02 18:07:06
Author Public Key
npub1a26d3luxy9yv5rjnyj37ewm3k9dq0h2kq47xe4luh7jpwmuwwk9sne7dn7Published at
2025-01-02 18:07:06Event JSON
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"content": "A Letter to Ezra Klein:\n\nI’ve become a regular listener to your podcast over the past year. I think you do a good job of extending yourself, your show and your guests beyond the mainstream liberal bubble. You create space for challenging viewpoints and avoid conforming to popular opinions. However, I think you may have a blind spot for Bitcoin. \n\nBitcoin was a large, mostly unrecognized influence in the 2024 election cycle. I felt one or two steps ahead of everyone in the media because I was paying attention to the voices in the Bitcoin space via podcasts and the Bitcoin-friendly social media network, Nostr.\n\nI would encourage you to dedicate a show to Bitcoin and really dig into it, in a way that the New York Times hasn’t so far. Here are just a few things I think you will learn:\n\n• Bitcoin should not be conflated with “Crypto”. There’s Bitcoin, and then there are thousands of other cryptocurrencies, most of them being outright get-rich-quick scams or ill-conceived attempts to replicate the success of bitcoin. The common misunderstandings of Bitcoin exist because mainstream media fails to differentiate between Bitcoin and Crypto and instead always lumps them into the same category.\n\n• Despite being widely misunderstood, Bitcoin’s social influence has grown exponentially. Anyone listening to Bitcoin podcasts or reading about Bitcoin in 2023-2024 would have known that Trump was going to win the election. Bitcoiners were predicting the Joe Biden withdrawal months before his debate debacle. Bitcoiners had early hunches about Trump and RFK junior teaming up. Bitcoiners had huge political influence in 2024, something that has not been reported on in a serious way in any mainstream media outlet.\n\n• Serious Bitcoiners are not the libertarian / tech bro caricatures they’re portrayed as. They are more politically practical than they are partisan. They are human rights activists. They are well-versed in macro economics. They have values rooted in family, fairness, conservative spending and saving for the future. They have long term outlooks. They preach humility and responsibility.\n\nFor the past 15 years, Bitcoiners have been watching their predictions for the asset come true over and over. Bitcoin has grown to a $2T market cap. Bitcoin is now held by the biggest financial institutions the US, such as Black Rock and Fidelity. Nations such as El Salvador and the Bhutan are actively stockpiling bitcoin. US Senators have proposed a bill to create a US National Bitcoin Reserve.\n\nIt’s growing influence is undeniable, which is why you owe it to your audience to report on Bitcoin with honesty, curiosity and an open mind. \n\nSome great places to start:\n\nThe Bitcoin Policy Institute \nhttps://www.btcpolicy.org/\n\nRabbit Hole Recap with Matt Odell and Marty Bent \nhttps://rhr.tv/\n\nWhat Bitcoin Did with Danny Knowles\nhttps://www.whatbitcoindid.com/\n\n",
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