A Christian Bitcoin Primer
Resources for understanding why Bitcoin matters that have nothing to do with getting rich quickly.
Disclaimer: This is a departure from the normal type of things I talk about on EoG, but it’s very closely related, and given the barrage of questions I’ve been getting from folks in the last few months I wanted to write a brief aside for new folks who are curious about Bitcoin and want to find a safe place to get your questions answered.
For those of you who are new, I’ve spent a good portion of the last five years trying to understand Bitcoin and the implications that its ascent is having and will have on the world, especially as it relates to Christians and Christian ministry, and interest that stems from the time I spent as a churchplanter in Montevideo, Uruguay. That’s a story for a different day, but it dovetails with Bitcoin is a number of prescient and surprising ways that have nothing to do with getting rich quickly. This is the popular level attraction to Bitcoin, but Christians are called to look past the superficial to the actual nature of what things are. I’ve listened to and read thousands of hours of lectures, podcasts, and books on the topic and have helped author and publish two of my own books on the topic to date (here, and most recently here) with a third (for kids) soon to follow.
I’m the founder of a media company called TGFB (Thank God For Bitcoin) which exists to help Christians understand and use Bitcoin for the glory of God and the good of people everywhere. I’ve appeared on a number of podcasts (including the Michael Knowles Show) and spoken at a variety of Christian and Bitcoin conferences.
I get a lot of the same questions from friends and family seeking to understand the value proposition of Bitcoin and why I think it’s such a big deal in ways that have nothing to do with getting rich quickly. So without further ado here’s a list of resources to get your journey started.
Podcasts:
The Investors Podcast Bitcoin Fundamentals Starter Pack - Preston Pysh is a friend and one of the most brilliant Bitcoin and macroeconomics experts in the world. This podcast was instrumental in helping me understand Bitcoin and I can’t recommend it more highly.
Rabbit Hole Recap - This is the first Bitcoin podcast I ever listened to, and one of the best places to keep up to date with Bitcoin news every week.
The Bitcoin the the Bible Podcast - All three of the hosts of the podcast are officers in their churches and they did a phenomenal job with this podcast prior to taking a semi-permanent hiatus.
Thank God For Bitcoin Podcast - I host the TGFB podcast, where we interview Bitcoiners from all over the world who explain how and why they got into Bitcoin and how it affects their lives and work.
Books
Thank God For Bitcoin - a primer on why money exists, why and how it’s broken today, the consequences of that brokeness, and why Christians should care, followed by a brief, approachable introduction why Bitcoin is better money.
Gradually, Then Suddenly by Parker Lewis - an excellent series of essays exploring Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous - The Bitcoin magnum opus
Broken Money by Lyn Alden - explores the history of money through the lens of technology
The Bible and Bitcoin by Alin Armstrong - I wrote the foreword to this approachable book about what Bitcoin it, how it works, and why it matters.
Videos -
Exchanges (where to buy Bitcoin)
River.com - River is the most trusted place to buy Bitcoin and find Bitcoin educational resources.
Unchained Capital - Bitcoin collaborative custody, inheritance planning, Bitcoin IRA’s, commercial loans
Other Helpful Resources
EndTheFUD.org - a page designed to answer the most common objections to Bitcoin
wtfhappenedin1971.com - a collection of charts and graphs devoted to illustrating the broad societal impact of decoupling the dollar from gold in 1971
nakamotoportfolio.com - allows you to input your data and see how Bitcoin can compliment/compare with a traditional stock portfolio performance.
tgfb.com - Our website where you can buy our books, read blog posts, listen to our podcasts, purchase tickets to our live events, etc.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have a significant cryptocurrency portfolio but $BTC has never been part of it, for multiple reasons. I haven’t read your other articles on this subject but I would expect that if we changed the word Bitcoin to cryptocurrency that we would have significant common ground.
I don’t play in meme coins and I’m not equating $BTC to a meme coin but it isn’t tokenized gold or tokenized anything. Its sole utility is to provide a means to transfer value, unlike coins that actually have utility and solve real world issues and can also transfer value.
The anonymity of $BTC value transfers has made it a favorite coin of illegal arms dealers, drug dealers and other criminals. I don’t know if they represent >1% of $BTC owners of a higher percentage but that was always a red flag for me.
The lack of scalability, high cost of mining and slow transfer speeds, are other reasons that I see $BTC as a dinosaur in the cryptocurrency world.
Also when looking at ROI, even if $BTC rose to $250K per coin (which seems highly unlikely) that would be a 250% ROI. JP Morgan’s preferred coin $XCN could easily hit that ROI on any given day and is likely to have an ROI of 1,000% or more as soon as the banking networks interconnect.
Ripple has been in the news a lot lately, establishing contracts with banks and institutions. The SEC lawsuit is all but dead and as soon as regulatory clarity comes from the USA (later this year) the sky is the limit on ROI as those banking and institutional connections go online.
The President of the USA has floated the idea of eliminating capital gains taxes on crypto profits from US based coins. Since $BTC is not a US based coin you will likely still face a 30% federal tax on your profits (if you have any).
So, with that background information, my question is, “Given the current cryptocurrency landscape, what would make you choose $BTC over another coin?” Clearly I have a preference for coins that have an inherent utility but I’m not looking to debate which is better. I’m hoping you are willing to explain why you hold a different opinion.