The Bitcoin Standard

A history of money — seashells, Rai stones, gold, the gold-exchange standard, fiat — assembled as the case for bitcoin as hard money.

Why it’s on the list: Named twice in the replies to the “explains an entire industry” thread, which is a useful signal about what that crowd treats as the industry’s canonical text, whether or not one accepts the argument.

Where I saw it: In Kyle’s “Books To Read” Apple Note, recovered from the reply thread to @WillManidis asking “what is the single best book you can read that will explain an entire industry?” (June 2, 2025). The full recovered list lives on what is the single best book… (tweet).

Connections

• what is the single best book… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• Cryptocurrency — the industry it argues for.