About Rod D. Martin
Praise for Rod D. Martin
Book Rod to Speak
Politics & Economics
Technology & Markets
Faith & Culture
by Jeffrey A. Tucker
September 8, 2017
Five years ago, the following would have been inconceivable. In a 48-hour period, the dollar/bitcoin exchange ratio dropped fully $1,000. A day later, half the gains came back. In the Bitcoin community, this was hardly discussed at all. Not even the websites and writers specializing in the topic wrote much about it. Hysterical claims that “Bitcoin is dead” were at a minimum.
To me, that’s mind blowing. It’s a different world from the one I entered when I received my first bitcoin.
A friend tells me he made a fortune when he bought Bitcoin for pennies, and sold it all when it became $2. His thinking: there is no way this digital nothing could be worth twice per unit the value of the world’s strongest currency. He never bought again.
Whoops.
I recall when Bitcoin went from $14 to $30. My social feed was blowing up about how this was an unprecedented bubble in what is obviously a Ponzi scheme. I defended the price as plausible. When it fell again, people were screaming how I had fallen for a hoax. Something similar happened when Bitcoin reached $250 and fell again to below $100. There’s your proof that this new thing is a complete racket.
As the price stabilized at $350 for a very long time and then started its upward march to eventually peak at $3,000, the incredulity has died down. Now I hardly see it at all. The questions today are more like: how do I become part of this market?
Indeed, vast numbers of people are involved, mining new and strange coins, trading on new platforms, experimenting with new currencies. The market cap of the entire sector, as of this writing, is an astonishing $170 billion. Keep in mind, the cloud-based, decentralized ledger technology on which this is all based was only released in 2009.
Price swings are expected. So are flash crashes. Anyone involved in this sector knows this. Bitcoin grows more anti-fragile by the day. Not even a major fork and the prospect of yet another fork shakes people.
Meanwhile, there are thousands of other tokens out there, some representing direct alternatives to Bitcoin’s currency-like features and others representing broader services associated with larger digital structures like Ethereum. The market for the “Initial Coin Release” (ICO) has exploded as a way of raising capital that bypasses the absurdly regulated and insufferably clogged conventional capital markets.
In this interview, I do a roundup of where we are today: theory, practice, controversies, and the future. Things are moving very fast and the problems and solutions are mounting by the day. I’m happy to say that this interview itself will be outmoded in about 30 days.
These are glorious times to be alive!
— Bitcoin Drops by $1,000 and No One Cares originally appeared at FEE.org.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
The future of technology is the future of America. Rod Martin sees that future clearly, and also sees how to shape it for the betterment of all. He is firmly rooted in the traditions of faith and patriotism that have made America great. That’s why he has made, and will make, so many outstanding contributions in so many areas.
