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Bitcoin Is Venice: Essays on the Past and Future of Capitalism
Allen Farrington and Sacha Meyers chart a crash course through the errors of modern economic theory and the world's broken fiat currency system with a hopeful Bitcoin Is Venice.
What if a global, digital, sound, open-source, programmable currency was monetizing from absolute zero? What might economies look like under a Bitcoin standard that pushes beyond Hernando de Soto’s abstraction of “capital” as "economic potential energy?" What might this new form of capital do to our current governing bodies? Can Bitcoin bring about a new global Renaissance? With Farrington and Meyers, the discussion is as revolutionary as the answers.
"Entertaining and erudite, this is a manifesto for a more ethical monetary and financial system, for capitalism in its purest form and for 'number go up' technology. This book bridges the gap between the concept of an open-source sound money and the practical reality of an ethical and workable financial system."
--Harris Irfan, author of Heaven’s Bankers
“A great deep dive into how Bitcoin provides a transmission mechanism to a world of truth, freedom, and abundance.”
--Jeff Booth, author of The Price of Tomorrow
“ Perhaps you found it surprising that a human rights advocate be asked to write the foreword to a book about finance and economics. But read the book, and you’ll understand why I’ve been tasked with preparing you for this journey.
This isn’t simply about how money and finance work -- though you’ll learn a lot about that along the way -- it’s a book about how we can, and how we must, harness the power of Bitcoin to secure liberty in the electronic age. ”
--Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer, Human Rights Foundation
All profits from Bitcoin is Venice are donated to the Human Rights Foundation.
Allen Farrington is a regular contributor to Bitcoin Magazine. Read more of his insights on the world of finance and society at www.bitcoinmagazine.com.
What if a global, digital, sound, open-source, programmable currency was monetizing from absolute zero? What might economies look like under a Bitcoin standard that pushes beyond Hernando de Soto’s abstraction of “capital” as "economic potential energy?" What might this new form of capital do to our current governing bodies? Can Bitcoin bring about a new global Renaissance? With Farrington and Meyers, the discussion is as revolutionary as the answers.
"Entertaining and erudite, this is a manifesto for a more ethical monetary and financial system, for capitalism in its purest form and for 'number go up' technology. This book bridges the gap between the concept of an open-source sound money and the practical reality of an ethical and workable financial system."
--Harris Irfan, author of Heaven’s Bankers
“A great deep dive into how Bitcoin provides a transmission mechanism to a world of truth, freedom, and abundance.”
--Jeff Booth, author of The Price of Tomorrow
“ Perhaps you found it surprising that a human rights advocate be asked to write the foreword to a book about finance and economics. But read the book, and you’ll understand why I’ve been tasked with preparing you for this journey.
This isn’t simply about how money and finance work -- though you’ll learn a lot about that along the way -- it’s a book about how we can, and how we must, harness the power of Bitcoin to secure liberty in the electronic age. ”
--Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer, Human Rights Foundation
All profits from Bitcoin is Venice are donated to the Human Rights Foundation.
Allen Farrington is a regular contributor to Bitcoin Magazine. Read more of his insights on the world of finance and society at www.bitcoinmagazine.com.
383 pages, Paperback
Published March 2, 2022
76 people are currently reading
429 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 29, 2022
While there are some interesting topics in this book, I found the writing style to be a bit too verbose for my liking (and difficulty at times comprehending it because of this). It's a good read but a bit on the more extreme end of the spectrum in terms of utopian maximalism for bitcoin in my opinion.
July 1, 2022
In 20 years time this book will be considered an anthropological classic on the topic. Highly abstract and beautifully constructed, the authors are clear polymaths whom respectfully and strongly build the argument that "bitcoin fixes this". Must read for anyone with deep bitcoin knowledge, would not advise this for someone who does not have mastery of certain concepts in economics, finance, philosophy, and bitcoin.
July 23, 2024
Fantastic read. Introduces the reader to all the seminal works on Austrian economics, while jumping back in time even further to make sense of what possibilities lie ahead. The authors also have a strong grasp of ‘real’ environmentalism, not the greenwashing kind, and how Bitcoin accelerates us towards that future too. Not an easy read by any means, with many works cited and my reading list now overflowing (!), but utterly thought provoking and unabashedly pro-human, pro-common sense, pro-Bitcoin.
May 1, 2022
Pretentious rambling and rife with jargons.
August 12, 2023
It has some EXCELLENT nuggets of wisdom and observation, but it’s too long and it needs an editor. There is a ton of waxing on and on in meandering paragraphs filled with commentary of which I don’t remember a word. I finished it, and gladly so, but it won’t be on my shortlist of content to orange-pill normies.
Here are a few of the best quotes:
“Bitcoin is peer to peer in every sense; it is so by design and it could not be any other way. As free and open source, it is peer-to-peer software; as consensus-driven software, it is a peer-to-peer protocol; as a censorship-resistant protocol, it is a peer-to-peer app; as a distributed app, it is a peer-to-peer network; as a communications network, it is a peer-to-peer language; and as a peaceful language, it is a peer-to-peer community.
“The client/server fiat finance and monetary model is none of these things, cannot be any of these things, and will never be any of these things. It is a closed-source, non-consensual, censorial, centralized, incomprehensible, violent system. It is unsurprising, therefore, that its system administrators would prefer to muddy the waters on how, exactly, it all works.”
—————————
"There will be tremendous value in normalizing this rhetoric amidst the likely growing chorus of opposition desperate to smear Bitcoin as inherently nefarious or even hostile. Opponents must be forced to explain what is wrong with people interacting freely, and why true goodness can only follow from coercion, in their understanding. Should those who have found a way out of the unbearable labyrinth of capital strip mining not take it? What do they owe the Minotaur? Does anybody really believe that, having fully understood the choice they face, any individual would choose to save in a self-referentially mispriced toxic loan rather than a provably sound digital bearer asset? Or, more simply still, that they will think it makes less sense to hold money that is a pure asset than money that is iliterally defined as liability? Why not opt into a financial systm that is built on trustless verifiability rather than unverifiable trust?"
—————————
“In an ironic if predictable twist, Christian love preaching that ‘there is neither, Jew, nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are on one in Christ Jesus,’ proved more scalable and durable than Roman force. A messy peer-to-peer Christian network fed mostly by the bottom-up adoption of ideas outlived the client-server model of a centrally-planned Roman Empire.”
—————————
“The tragic irony of the totalitarian deceit is that the epidemic of widespread and unchecked selfishness against which the totalitarian prosyletizes is unlikely to exist in any circumstances other than the deprivation caused by totalitarianism itself. Wealth comes from capital. The destruction of capital, whether from total coercion or total isolation, will lead to poverty one way or another.”
—————————
“We have never before had a digital bearer asset, nor an asset of any kind with trivial costs to defend and practically infinite costs to attack. This moment is at least as historically relevant as the settling of the American West. Likely more so.”
Here are a few of the best quotes:
“Bitcoin is peer to peer in every sense; it is so by design and it could not be any other way. As free and open source, it is peer-to-peer software; as consensus-driven software, it is a peer-to-peer protocol; as a censorship-resistant protocol, it is a peer-to-peer app; as a distributed app, it is a peer-to-peer network; as a communications network, it is a peer-to-peer language; and as a peaceful language, it is a peer-to-peer community.
“The client/server fiat finance and monetary model is none of these things, cannot be any of these things, and will never be any of these things. It is a closed-source, non-consensual, censorial, centralized, incomprehensible, violent system. It is unsurprising, therefore, that its system administrators would prefer to muddy the waters on how, exactly, it all works.”
—————————
"There will be tremendous value in normalizing this rhetoric amidst the likely growing chorus of opposition desperate to smear Bitcoin as inherently nefarious or even hostile. Opponents must be forced to explain what is wrong with people interacting freely, and why true goodness can only follow from coercion, in their understanding. Should those who have found a way out of the unbearable labyrinth of capital strip mining not take it? What do they owe the Minotaur? Does anybody really believe that, having fully understood the choice they face, any individual would choose to save in a self-referentially mispriced toxic loan rather than a provably sound digital bearer asset? Or, more simply still, that they will think it makes less sense to hold money that is a pure asset than money that is iliterally defined as liability? Why not opt into a financial systm that is built on trustless verifiability rather than unverifiable trust?"
—————————
“In an ironic if predictable twist, Christian love preaching that ‘there is neither, Jew, nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are on one in Christ Jesus,’ proved more scalable and durable than Roman force. A messy peer-to-peer Christian network fed mostly by the bottom-up adoption of ideas outlived the client-server model of a centrally-planned Roman Empire.”
—————————
“The tragic irony of the totalitarian deceit is that the epidemic of widespread and unchecked selfishness against which the totalitarian prosyletizes is unlikely to exist in any circumstances other than the deprivation caused by totalitarianism itself. Wealth comes from capital. The destruction of capital, whether from total coercion or total isolation, will lead to poverty one way or another.”
—————————
“We have never before had a digital bearer asset, nor an asset of any kind with trivial costs to defend and practically infinite costs to attack. This moment is at least as historically relevant as the settling of the American West. Likely more so.”
May 25, 2024
This book has some very interesting moments, but I would not call it a must read. It’s definitely not the first book you ought to pick up if you want to learn about bitcoin, as it’s just too academic for, it appears, the sake of being academic. I tend to want to forgive them that, as I think that’s just what they’re used to. However, my style is more of the Kurt Vonnegut style of get to the point! And the reality is that being verbose is at best lazy and at worst pompous.
December 18, 2022
As a child, my IQ was measured above "genius" threshold. I reference this not to boast, but rather to set a baseline for my review. Notably, I have not studied economics, so that is another factor. Despite paying close attention, less than 5 percent of this book makes any sense to me whatsoever. So I quit reading after 60 pages, after skimming ahead. Beyond the first chapter, it does not return to the laymen level.
This type of book might make sense to those with extensive pre-knowledge of the included subjects, but for 99 percent of the populace, it's unfortunately going to be a complete waste of time. Really wanted to like it. Any author attempting to further the adoption of bitcoin deserves praise. I hope this book reaches that 1 percent that can comprehend it.
This type of book might make sense to those with extensive pre-knowledge of the included subjects, but for 99 percent of the populace, it's unfortunately going to be a complete waste of time. Really wanted to like it. Any author attempting to further the adoption of bitcoin deserves praise. I hope this book reaches that 1 percent that can comprehend it.
December 20, 2022
This is well researched and supported through a collection of essays that discuses capitalism throughout the ages and Bitcoin’s relationship to it. A dense and technical read at times, I would recommend this to a reader who is looking for an advanced theoretical understanding of monetary theory and Bitcoin as it relates to a variety of different areas of our modern lives (environmental, cultural, political…etc).
4/5 for ease of readability but perhaps its content will age like wine as my grey matter slowly grows and Bitcoin’s impact on the world moves from speculation to history.
5/5 for the hope!
4/5 for ease of readability but perhaps its content will age like wine as my grey matter slowly grows and Bitcoin’s impact on the world moves from speculation to history.
5/5 for the hope!
June 18, 2022
Love Allen Farrington and Sasha Meyers. Book reads like a compilation of articles that were written and put together to form a book. It is a tough read and requires a person to be really well read, but if you are up for the challenge it is a great book.
tl:dr: Fix the money, fix the world.
tl:dr: Fix the money, fix the world.
March 25, 2022
pure analysis.
November 11, 2023
There were things I liked in the beginning of this book. I liked the idea of uncertainty as being a better descriptor than risk of what drives investment decisions and market fluctuations. I agree with the analysis of the problems with the current financial system, which has backwards incentives that create bad results and that are unlikely to ever be fixed. And I like the idea of bottom up solutions as a way to create a fairer system. There are even some credible reasons for arguing that Bitcoin as a new world monetary system could help fix some of the problems. And I agree with the idea that the simplicity of the Bitcoin protocol makes it in some ways a better candidate for this role than other crypto protocols that try to do more.
But then the authors go over the edge and I part company with them. They tout Bitcoin as the solution to all of our problems. It will incentivize the productive use of capital. It will drive the adoption of clean energy. It will end the problem of massive wealth and income inequality. Their arguments are not entirely crazy, but there is no universe in which Bitcoin could do any of these things. Crypto is even more subject to manipulation than fiat currency. There's no reason to think that the people who control massive piles of crypto will use their treasure in a benevolent way. Crypto may be harder to regulate than fiat, but that doesn't mean that it cannot be regulated. Whether it is done by government or by financial giants, some form of regulation and control for the benefit of the rich is inevitable. And bottom up solutions don't always deliver optimal results. In a game theoretic universe where everyone reacts to what they think that other people will do there are Nash Equilibrium points that are suboptimal.
I remember back in the 90s when people said things about the internet similar to the authors' claims in this book for Bitcoin. It was democratic. It would give voice to the disenfranchised. It would give economic opportunity back to the little guy. Hah! And now we live in an internet world dominated by a few big companies who suck us for our data, addict us, promote disinformation and then turn us against each other in the name of driving greater engagement. Be careful what you wish for.
But then the authors go over the edge and I part company with them. They tout Bitcoin as the solution to all of our problems. It will incentivize the productive use of capital. It will drive the adoption of clean energy. It will end the problem of massive wealth and income inequality. Their arguments are not entirely crazy, but there is no universe in which Bitcoin could do any of these things. Crypto is even more subject to manipulation than fiat currency. There's no reason to think that the people who control massive piles of crypto will use their treasure in a benevolent way. Crypto may be harder to regulate than fiat, but that doesn't mean that it cannot be regulated. Whether it is done by government or by financial giants, some form of regulation and control for the benefit of the rich is inevitable. And bottom up solutions don't always deliver optimal results. In a game theoretic universe where everyone reacts to what they think that other people will do there are Nash Equilibrium points that are suboptimal.
I remember back in the 90s when people said things about the internet similar to the authors' claims in this book for Bitcoin. It was democratic. It would give voice to the disenfranchised. It would give economic opportunity back to the little guy. Hah! And now we live in an internet world dominated by a few big companies who suck us for our data, addict us, promote disinformation and then turn us against each other in the name of driving greater engagement. Be careful what you wish for.
September 2, 2024
The authors are brilliant people and I found myself agreeing with most all of their sentiments. I was also thrilled to see them quoting some of my favorite writers, Hernando de Soto Solar, Carlota Perez, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and George Gilder. I have a background in Web3 blockchain technology and hoped this book would give me new insights into Bitcoin, but it did not.
This book will appeal and succeed at exposing curious people to a sample of broad topics of great importance. As long as you have patience, a lot of patience, and time.
I found the book a collection of unrelated essays where I constantly demanded “get to the point, already!” I kept wondering where was the editor? Cut out 60% of the book and it would suit more people.
The key points are not well argued. The biggest error is the insistence that Bitcoin could only be stolen through torture. This is wrong. I have seen friends lose BTC through trickery and malware.
For better economic books on Crypto and value see:
Blockchain Wars by Evan McFarland
Life after Capitalism by George Gilder
Read, Write Own by Chris Dixon
Bitcoin Bros however will love this book despite its flaws.
This book will appeal and succeed at exposing curious people to a sample of broad topics of great importance. As long as you have patience, a lot of patience, and time.
I found the book a collection of unrelated essays where I constantly demanded “get to the point, already!” I kept wondering where was the editor? Cut out 60% of the book and it would suit more people.
The key points are not well argued. The biggest error is the insistence that Bitcoin could only be stolen through torture. This is wrong. I have seen friends lose BTC through trickery and malware.
For better economic books on Crypto and value see:
Blockchain Wars by Evan McFarland
Life after Capitalism by George Gilder
Read, Write Own by Chris Dixon
Bitcoin Bros however will love this book despite its flaws.
October 22, 2025
Information dense and a great introduction to the philosophy of capital (if you can call it that) that I'd never had or read before. Allen tends to reach for wording or descriptions that are ... perhaps unnecessarily complex. With Bitcoin or finance I can't quite tell, but then he was describing at one point software or software development which I know, and I thought, this is a very elaborate way to describe the thing.
March 4, 2023
enlightenment attained.
Loved the journey from the moment I set out with the fur page until I reached back to port at its conclusion.
I’ve already recommended this work to several Bitcoin community members in Australia.
Almost a seminal work here.
This book should be at home with us all.
Loved the journey from the moment I set out with the fur page until I reached back to port at its conclusion.
I’ve already recommended this work to several Bitcoin community members in Australia.
Almost a seminal work here.
This book should be at home with us all.
December 27, 2023
spirited an sometime contrarian, thought provoking
While I don’t agree with all of the author’s thesis and conclusions, I think many points are spot on. The endnotes alone are with the price of the book. Patient readers will benefit from this text. I also spent time in ChatGPT asking the AI to expand on some text. Overall, a worthwhile read.
While I don’t agree with all of the author’s thesis and conclusions, I think many points are spot on. The endnotes alone are with the price of the book. Patient readers will benefit from this text. I also spent time in ChatGPT asking the AI to expand on some text. Overall, a worthwhile read.
May 25, 2022
Simply put the best book on finance and bitcoin.
September 7, 2023
Absolutely stunning.
Read
May 8, 2024Phenomenal collection of thoughts on Bitcoin and Austrian economics purveyed in a non-technical manner.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews