Crypto Stories: Vijay Boyapati on Austrian Economics, Bitcoin and Monetary Policy

Vijay Boyapati (@real_vijay), software engineer, crypto thinker and proponent of Austrian economics, joins Erik on this episode to talk about a number of interesting topics. They start with a primer on Austrian economics, what makes it different from other schools of economics, and why economics is a unique science with different schools of thought — “there isn’t a Chicago school of physics or a Marxist school of chemistry.” Vijay speculates on why Austrian economics has become a niche school of economics and analyzes Bitcoin and current economic policy through the lens of Austrian economics. He gives his opinion on the fed, fractional reserve banking and debunks some misconceptions that people have about Bitcoin. They finish with a lightning round discussing what famous economists like Hayek or Friedman would think about Bitcoin. Vijay also discusses the Bitmain IPO and what Facebook entering the cryptocurrency space might mean for the “incumbents.” Quotable lines from this episode: “You look at academia and there’s probably 10 Keynesian economists for every Chicago economist and there’s probably 10 Chicago economists for every Austrian economist.” “It’s sad that political expediency has trumped the pursuit of truth.” “There isn’t like a Chicago school of physics or a Marxist school of chemistry.” “Austrians really believe that an economy grows through investment, capital formation and entrepreneurial activities [rather than through consumption].” “The monetary premium is the value and purchasing power that it has that isn’t explained by its use value.” “All monies throughout history are bubbles and the bubbles don’t necessarily need to pop.” “I think it’s [Bitcoin] the most important innovation in money in a thousand years.” “The thing that’s exciting about Bitcoin is that it gives you a property right but doesn’t require anyone to enforce that property right.” - Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal. Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg. Shawn Xu is our researcher, Colin Campbell is our audio engineer, and the show is produced by Brett Bolkowy.