In a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, guest Maajid Nawaz told Rogan about the dangers of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which can be programmed to be spent only as central authorities deem acceptable. That revelation shocked the popular comedian, whose podcast secures 11 million listeners per episode.
Where though, does Rogan stand on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? As an Anthony Pompliano video points out, the comedian is more popular than CNN and Fox News combined. With that kind of audience and influence, Rogan’s opinion matters.
Joe Rogan, bitcoin and the state
Joe Rogan may be a little less familiar with CBDCs, but bitcoin and cryptocurrency are topics he has spoken about regularly. Over the years a variety of guests including Andreas Antonopoulos, Jack Dorsey, and Kanye West have spoken to Rogan on the subject.
On the surface, bitcoin and cryptocurrency would seem to be a natural fit for Rogan who is both liberal and libertarian. What about in practice though? As early as 2016, in a show with bitcoin advocate Andreas Antonopoulos, Rogan expressed his hopes for bitcoin and how it might eventually lead to the separation of money and state;
“It’s going to slowly but surely erode a lot of the major problems that we have with society today, as far as this government having massive amounts of control over the economy and the banks being the ones who, sort of, enforce the kinds of laws that have allowed the mortgage crisis and allow these bubbles to occur.”
Rogan went on to add, “A lot of that is because of power, a lot of that power is going away if something like cryptocurrencies emerge as the predominant way that we use and exchange money.”
As Andreas Antonopoulos told Rogan, that is the ideal that many crypto activists aspire to. Antonopoulos went on to warn Rogan that there is also a potential dark side to digital currencies, and of corporations and banks using digital currencies to surveil individuals.
Rogan remains hopeful
In the intervening years, Rogan’s opinion on BTC seems to have remained firmly in the hopeful camp. In a more recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience featuring Adam Curry (Jan. 8, 2022), Rogan once again stated his opinion that bitcoin could be a major force for good, and a chance to wipe the slate clean;
“I have a lot of hope for cryptocurrencies, I really do. I don’t know too much about them, but bitcoin seems to be the one… and ethereum, the ones that people who are in the know talk about the most. My point is that, what we’re seeing, right now, it’s either going to go one way or the other, it’s either going to fall apart completely or we’re going to use this as an opportunity to right the ship and find a better way to live our lives.”
From Rogan’s past remarks on the subject, it’s safe to conclude that the comedian and podcaster is a longstanding admirer and fan. Rogan is a bitcoin idealist who sees the potential of the technology as a driving force for positive change, and as a way for individuals to protect themselves from tyrannical governments.
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