Mayer Amschel Rothschild, the founding father of international finance, is reputed to have said, “Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws!”1 Money and power are inextricably entwined. Most often it seems like those with the money ultimately decide who will be in power. Which makes the idea of a currency that cannot be manipulated by a government, or controlled by a central bank, a very popular one. In 2009, this libertarian ideal became a reality with the introduction of bitcoin. Purportedly developed by Satoshi Nakamoto (now regarded as a pseudonym), this so-called “cryptocurrency” allows you to pay for things without the involvement of a third-party broker, like a …
