In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, guest Majid Nawaz spoke to Rogan about the dangers of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which can be programmed to spend only as acceptable to central authorities. That revelation shocked the popular comedian, whose podcast secures 11 million listeners per episode.
Where does Rogan stand on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, though? As the Anthony Pompliano video points out, the comedian is more popular than CNN and Fox News. 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 talks about regularly. Several guests, including Andreas Antonopoulos, Jack Dorsey and Kanye West, have spoken to Rogan on the subject over the years.
On the surface, bitcoin and the cryptocurrency seem to be a natural fit for Rogan who is both liberal and liberal. What in practice though? In early 2016, in a show with bitcoin advocate Andreas Antonopoulos, Rogan expressed his hope for bitcoin and how it might eventually lead to the separation of money and the state;
“This is slowly but surely going to erase a lot of the major problems that we have with society today, as far as this government has a huge amount of control over the economy and the banks, which Enact all kinds of laws that have allowed mortgage crises and allowed these bubbles to happen.”
Rogan continued, “A lot of it is due to power, a lot of that power is going to go away if something like cryptocurrencies emerges as the dominant way that we use and exchange money.”
As Andreas Antonopoulos told Rogan, this is the ideal that many crypto activists aspire to. Antonopoulos warned Rogan that there are also potentially dark sides to corporations and banks using digital currencies to survey digital currencies and individuals.
Rogan remains hopeful
In the intervening years, Rogan’s opinion on BTC has remained firmly in the hopeful camp. In a more recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience featuring Adam Curry (January 8, 2022), Rogan once again voices his opinion that bitcoin could be a bigger force for good, and a chance to clear the slate. Is;
“I have high hopes for cryptocurrencies, I really do. I don’t know too much about them, but bitcoin seems to be the one… and ethereum is what people in the know talk about the most. My point is this is that, what we’re seeing now, it’s going to either go one way or the other, it’s either going to be completely different or we’re going to use this as an opportunity to right the ship and find our Better way to live life.”
From Rogan’s previous comments on the subject, it’s safe to conclude that the comedian and podcaster is a longtime fan and fan. Rogan is a bitcoin idealist who sees the potential of technology as a driving force for positive change, and as a way for individuals to protect themselves from tyrannical governments.