How Milton Friedman Predicted Bitcoin In 1999

By Ray Hennessey edited by Dan Bova Jan 20, 2014

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Bitcoin is widely embraced by the libertarian community, mostly because the digital currency isn’t tied to any single government, nor is it that heavily regulated. (Well, at least not yet. Give it time.)

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the idea behind Bitcoin was endorsed years ago by Milton Friedman, the shaman of modern free-market economics.

In a 1999 interview suddenly making the rounds on YouTube, Friedman talks about the then-nascent internet, saying he thinks it will be one of “the major forces reducing the role of government.”

That remains to be seen, but he then mused over the idea of a web currency that sounds awfully familiar to today’s beloved, misunderstood and evolving Bitcoin…

Bitcoin is widely embraced by the libertarian community, mostly because the digital currency isn’t tied to any single government, nor is it that heavily regulated. (Well, at least not yet. Give it time.)

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the idea behind Bitcoin was endorsed years ago by Milton Friedman, the shaman of modern free-market economics.

In a 1999 interview suddenly making the rounds on YouTube, Friedman talks about the then-nascent internet, saying he thinks it will be one of “the major forces reducing the role of government.”

That remains to be seen, but he then mused over the idea of a web currency that sounds awfully familiar to today’s beloved, misunderstood and evolving Bitcoin…

The rest of this article is locked.

Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

Subscribe Now

Already have an account? Sign In

Ray Hennessey

Former Editorial Director at Entrepreneur Media at Entrepreneur Media
Ray Hennessey is the former editorial director of Entrepreneur.

Related Content