Cryptosovereignty: The Encrypted Political Philosophy of Bitcoin

by Erik Cason, Robert Breedlove (Foreword)

Erik Cason’s masterwork brilliantly unpacks the philosophical ideals and intersections of Bitcoin, sovereignty, and cryptography in the 21st century. The result is about more than just money. It’s about the real personal power created through the sovereignty of cryptography and a truly independent monetary system.

Cryptosovereignty is a tour de force – a thought-provoking deep dive into the very essence of why Bitcoin is poised to usher in a complete paradigm shift as we move toward a future where solidarity and purpose reign supreme.
— Preston Pysh, host of the #1 ranked investing podcast on iTunes, We Study Billionaires

Cason’s extraordinary work offers us a way out of nihilism and authoritarianism and posits a future where both technology and spirit work together to sustain a just society and liberated humanity.
— Jesse Posner, Senior Blockchain Engineer at Block

It’s hard to think of a greater gift Cason could give the world than to help people understand Bitcoin better – a feat he accomplishes with resounding success in this book.
— John Vallis, Host of The Rapid-Fire Bitcoin Podcast

What Bitcoin truly represents and what Satoshi accomplished through its creation are explored here fearlessly and candidly, yet with such honest and precise terminology that it becomes impossible to evade the historic significance Bitcoin is about to exact on every aspect of human existence.
— Tomer Strolight, Editor-in-Chief at Swan Bitcoin and author of Why Bitcoin

I consider Cason’s book one of the most important works since the publication of the Cypherpunk Manifesto . Everyone who takes Bitcoin seriously should read it; those who don’t should read it twice.
— Der Gigi, Author of 21 Lessons

I remember first stumbling across Erik Cason’s work in 2019 and thinking, “How does nobody know about this guy?” I am so glad Erik Cason brought his writings together into a single book, and I hope you too will be blown away reading Cryptosovereignty .
— Aleksandar Svetski, Author of TheUnCommunist Manifesto and The Bushido of Bitcoin

Erik Cason first started dabbling in Bitcoin in 2012, and in 2013 he joined Coinbase to help get Bitcoin in the hands of as many people as possible. After leaving Coinbase in 2017, he focused on writing essays on the social, political, and philosophical aspects of Bitcoin. Today he works as a Bitcoin educator continuing to develop his philosophical approach to Bitcoin and how it will transform the world.

Genres: Money

259 pages, Paperback

Published August 14, 2023

Reviews

[zogador · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bitcoin carries different meanings for different people. The specific understanding of the individual will depend on that person's personal knowledge as a frame of reference. To understand Bitcoin, you study all related things, which are not bitcoin. At it's core it is software, a form of technology.

The author sets himself on a difficult path, intent on melding the meaning of bitcoin with various religions, philosophy, and politics. He may have a strong argument that Bitcoin is political, since all government is today married to money creation and control of money.

There are some deeply thought-provoking concepts present in this book. I enjoyed the views on "crypto" and "The Danger". Probably the best exploration herein is the dynamic between truth/power/authority. Unfortunately, in the latter chapters, there is an unraveling, in which the narrative degenerates into cryptic poetry and strange symbolic imagery, with rapid references to philosophy and religion.

Erik Cason is either a genius or madman, and probably both. This book is either intended to confuse or reveal, and probably both. I quote three paragraphs to illustrate this bizarre content.

"It is only from this inverted, hypostatized place of the direct and total encounter between God and Law, that Spinozian God may subsume his rightful place for the final closure to the Door of Law. This closure opens the only possibility of a path to His kingdom, where the one and only law reigns absolutely, but without physicality.

It is no wonder that Kasparov suspected Deeper Blue of needing a human to intervene in the end. No matter how much power the machine had, it still did not have the Dionysian Kyros of the human soul. The bombastic suicide the ego will seek out and offer itself up as the final sacrifice in the name of vengeance for something more. The Acephali will offer himself up as a human sacrifice and tear out his own heart in order to make it into a grenade for this final act.

To take the leap and go beyond being for those who have touched bottom and for the silenced Other in order to affirm that we do have a soul, that this place does matter, and it all means something. It is to unveil the mirror that is in The Nothingness where Beyng finds itself and the Hidden Knowledge beings will always contain."

Bollocks! The book deserves 2.5 stars out of 5. Bringing it back to cold hard reality, Bitcoin is software. There is very little room for the growth of religion and philosophy inside of software. Does Bitcoin have "messianic" saving potential for the individual? Absolutely. We have seen it save people from tyrannical governments, and it will continue forward in that direction. However, is it the 2nd coming of Christ and a new form of life? That question can be answered with a good chuckle.

[a · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is both amazing and impossible at the same time