A review by xcinnamonsugar
Broken Money: Why Our Financial System Is Failing Us and How We Can Make It Better by Lyn Alden

informative

5.0

This book is an excellent entry point into understanding the value of Bitcoin as a decentralised currency. The first half of the book focuses on explaining the evolution and limitations of traditional finance, from barter trade to gold-backed currency and finally the fiat money we use today. While an increasingly centralised system improves the efficiency of transactions, it also consolidates power into the hands of state actors that the general public is now at the mercy of. Enter Bitcoin. The second half of the book does a deep-dive analysis on various subjects from energy usage to how proof-of-work gives it an "unforgeable costliness". I'll admit many of the technical details went over my head, but I liked that the writing was clear in emphasising the core principles of what makes a form of money inherently robust.