Learn more about BPI Senior Advisor Avik Roy in the latest installment of our Meet the Fellows series.
What do you do for work?
A lot of different things. I co-founded a think tank called the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity. I'm the Policy Editor at Forbes, where I lead Forbes' coverage of public policy topics. And I am the Senior Advisor to the Bitcoin Policy Institute, among other roles.
How did you wind up in your current role?
That's a long story! I relay some of it here: https://freopp.org/the-freopp-founders-avik-roy-53719dfcaf05f
How did you become interested in researching Bitcoin?
I've been following bitcoin since 2008. I gradually got more involved personally after the Mt. Gox bankruptcy.
What are your most significant intellectual interests aside from Bitcoin?
I do a lot of work on U.S. political movements; macroeconomic policy; and health care and fiscal policy.
How have your views on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency broadly changed over time?
Yes; when I first got involved in bitcoin it was more intrigued by bitcoin as a payments mechanism. In recent years I have been more compelled by bitcoin as the premier store of value, along with its censorship resistance.
What misconception about Bitcoin do you hear most from your colleagues?
That it has no fundamental value.
What misconception about Bitcoin or the subject of your research do you hear most from Bitcoin enthusiasts?
As I noted above, I think bitcoin is somewhat overrated by enthusiasts in terms of its utility for everyday payments. It is much more useful as a store of value.
What are your hopes for the future of BPI?
That BPI helps members of Congress and the executive branch transition the United States to a monetary system that is compatible with, and over the long term, based on, bitcoin.
Favorite novel?
Not technically a novel, but Virgil's The Aeneid
Favorite U.S. President?
Madison
Who is your biggest intellectual influence?
Michael Oakeshott
