Writing
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January 2021
Will Technology Decentralize Power?
What will be the long run effect of technological progress on the distribution of power? Will governments and big tech companies closely cooperate to strengthen their control over society? Or can the cypherpunk dream of technology as a tool of individual freedom and privacy be realized?
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January 2019
Would Bitcoin being overtaken destroy digital scarcity?
A common argument in the crypto world is that if Bitcoin is ever overtaken as the dominant cryptocurrency, digital scarcity can never be restored. I examine this argument and the general style of reasoning that it embodies.
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January 2019
A Libertarian Response to “Against Szabo’s Law”
An influential Etherean argues that the "code is law" philosophy of some blockchains is deeply misguided. I argue that it's a simple extension of libertarian political theory to crypto.
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January 2019
Examining a Conspiracy Theory about Satoshi’s Intent
Satoshi's intent has been beaten to death and is not that meaningful. However the extent to which some Bitcoiners have been able to convince themselves of an unlikely interpretation is interesting sociologically.
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January 2018
Critique of "An (Institutional) Investor's Take on Cryptoassets"
A flawed model of how to value cryptoassets was becoming popular, so I wrote this response. You'll need to read the linked original article for context.
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November 2017
Why we should be worried about an artificial intelligence explosion
An AI researcher makes some arguments against the idea of an AI explosion, which I critique.
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March 2017
Market Governance FAQ
I explain why people should be less fearful of governance via hard fork on cryptocurrency networks.
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January 2016
The Bitcoin block size debate is not just about technical expertise
People with technical expertise often try to cite their expertise in support of their views in illegitimate ways. This essay looks at a case of that happening and explains the general concept.
A while back I created a wiki about popular debates in the Bitcoin world, though it’s now a bit out of date.