This week I am excited to share an interview Steve Patterson! We are zooming in all the way on the foundations of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

Steve is the author of "What's the Big Deal About Bitcoin?", which I think is the best introductory book out there to learn about bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

We talk about what first sparked Steve's interest in cryptocurrency and then dive into the basics of bitcoin from advantages, objections, challenges, and more.

Note: This interview was recorded in March 2019.

Make sure to check out the book: "What's The Big Deal About Bitcoin?" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Big-Deal-About-Bitcoin-ebook/dp/B00RF3BQDU

And find out more about Steve at steve-patterson.com

In this episode:

• How did Steve first hear about Bitcoin and what made him feel excited about it?
  
• What about the economics of Bitcoin made it seem unique and interesting to Steve?
  
• Why should people care about cryptocurrency?
  
• The importance and value of having a currency that is not controlled by the government
  
• What does it mean for something to be "programmable money"
  
• The value cryptocurrency brings to a future where more and more work is done across borders
  
• Laying out the foundation for what Bitcoin is
  
• Understanding the parts of Bitcoin (ledger, currency, software)
  
• The basics of securing a blockchain
  
• How can something digital be provably unique? And why does this matter for the value of cryptocurrency?
  
• Covering some common objections to cryptocurrency and bitcoin
  
• Why learning about the basics of economics will help you understand almost everything about the world, and be especially helpful with understanding cryptocurrency