People keep using the phrase "backed by" as if the gold standard never ended. Dollars haven't been backed by gold since 1971. Most assets derive value from utility, scarcity, and demand, not redemption for some deeper asset. The phrase survives, but "backed by" died when your grandpa was still wearing a leisure suit. https://www.cryptoconfidence.org/p/bitcoin-myths-part-10

One of the biggest things I've changed my mind about is why gold stopped being money. Gold was one of the greatest forms of money humanity ever used. The problem was that civilization kept growing while gold remained physical. Banking solved the growth problem, but it created a new set of problems that we're still dealing with today. Sound money didn't disappear because of a conspiracy. It disappeared because civilization outgrew gold. Understanding that history matters if we ever want to build trustworthy money again. https://www.cryptoconfidence.org/p/gold-vs-bitcoin-part-5

Bitcoin dropping makes me wonder about the rest of the stock market.

Every safety regulation is written in blood. AI won’t escape political reaction. Deep Water Horizon had an excellent safety record until 11 people died. Now AI is already inventing legal cases, refund policies, and biased hiring systems. People predicting “fully autonomous agents” are ignoring what happens when systems fail in the real world. The law will keep humans in the loop whether Silicon Valley likes it or not. https://cryptoconfidence.substack.com/p/the-ai-employment-explosion-part-5a1

Why is the market going down?