Onramp Bitcoin Media Broken Money with Lyn Alden: The Technological Arc of Money and Power
33 snips
Oct 10, 2025 
Lyn Alden, a macro researcher and author of 'Broken Money', dives into the evolution of monetary technology, from shells to Bitcoin. She argues Bitcoin counters financialization, offering true digital settlement and bridging transaction speed gaps. Alden discusses the pivotal role of liquidity cycles, fiscal dominance, and why scarce assets like Bitcoin are poised to thrive in an era shaped by debt and geopolitics. With insights into historical money systems, she emphasizes the importance of adapting portfolios for a macro-heavy decade.
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Tobacco Money Collapse In The Colonies
- Early American colonies used tobacco as money which exposed many monetary problems in a short time.
- Lyn Alden recounts how tobacco money led to inflation, restrictions, warehousing, receipts, and counterparty risk.
Two Parallel Technological Paths Of Money
- Money evolved on two technological paths: harder commodities and transfer technologies layered on top.
- Lyn Alden highlights coinage, paper, printing, and analog anti-forgery as transfer innovations.
Telegraph Created A Settlement Gap
- The telegraph created a historic gap between transaction speed and physical settlement speed.
- Alden argues Bitcoin finally closes that gap by enabling digital settlement rather than just digital transactions.
