Economics & money · 2023
Broken Money
by Lyn Alden
Money as a technology, from ledgers to Lightning — rigorous and readable.
The honest summary
Broken Money is the systems engineer’s history of money: Alden’s thesis is that money is ledger technology, and that the friction of today’s system comes from settling slow analog trust (banking, correspondent networks) over fast digital rails. She traces why nothing between gold and Bitcoin could keep speed and soundness in the same instrument, and why 160+ currencies with local monopolies serve institutions better than people.
The book moves from monetary history through the mechanics of the current system (eurodollars, payments plumbing, financial repression) to Bitcoin and Lightning as an attempt to make the base layer itself digital, neutral and final. It is data-heavy, sourced, and notably fair to counterarguments.
It suits analytical readers — finance people especially — who found The Bitcoin Standard too polemical but want the full argument. At 500+ pages it is a commitment; the reward is the most complete single-volume treatment of why money broke and what fixing it would require.
Quick answers
- What is Broken Money about?
- Money as a technology, from ledgers to Lightning — rigorous and readable. Broken Money is the systems engineer’s history of money: Alden’s thesis is that money is ledger technology, and that the friction of today’s system comes from settling slow analog trust (banking, correspondent networks) over fast digital rails. She traces why nothing between gold and Bitcoin could keep speed and soundness in the same instrument, and why 160+ currencies with local monopolies serve institutions better than people.
- Who should read Broken Money?
- It suits analytical readers — finance people especially — who found The Bitcoin Standard too polemical but want the full argument. At 500+ pages it is a commitment; the reward is the most complete single-volume treatment of why money broke and what fixing it would require.
- Is Broken Money free to read?
- Broken Money is a commercially published book — the link on this page goes to the author or publisher, never an affiliate storefront.
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