In an in-depth conversation, Jeff Booth, a Vancouver-born entrepreneur and author of The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation is Key to an Abundant Future, presents a provocative view on the intersection of technology and finance. Booth has long cautioned that the current financial system functions as a mirage, hindering equitable progress and innovation. He posits that “the natural state of the free market is deflation,” stressing that competition necessitates increasing value while reducing costs. However, he argues that such a model cannot coexist with a debt-based system, which must endlessly expand.
Throughout his career, including his nearly two-decade tenure at tech company BuildDirect and now leading venture firm Ego Death Capital, Booth has focused on a singular assertion: a hopeful future is achievable if we reassess our incentives. His views emerge against a backdrop of troubling economic indicators: rising unemployment, soaring corporate bankruptcies, and escalating credit card delinquencies amidst stagnant real wages, all coupled with a staggering global debt that exceeds $337 trillion.
Booth points out that reliance on credit is a systemic issue rather than an individual failing. “When you go to a bank, the bank doesn’t have the money; it’s lent into existence,” he explains. The ramifications of this system are profound—if prices were to fall in a debt-based economy, everything built on that debt would collapse.
In Booth’s perspective, we have never truly experienced a free market. Instead, he argues that we are confined to controlled economic systems, whether labeled communist, capitalist, or socialist, each designed to maintain certain powers.
Booth champions Bitcoin as the first genuine global free market, arguing that it operates independently from manipulable financial systems. He describes Bitcoin as a force that “reprices the entire world,” arguing that its scarcity-driven, deflationary model outperforms traditional assets like real estate. He encourages individuals not just to acquire Bitcoin but to integrate it into their daily lives, asserting, “We’re insanely early.”
Despite the prevailing economic anxieties regarding inflation, automation, and global instability, Booth expresses a unyielding optimism. He attributes much of our collective fear to an entrenched system designed to sustain monopolies and inhibit true competition. In a world unrestricted by manipulative practices, technological advances—whether AI, robotics, or cryptocurrency—can lead to widespread abundance.
Booth emphasizes the importance of personal agency in navigating these challenges. He advocates for individuals to engage with Bitcoin independently, suggesting tools like Nostr and Fedi to foster communication and community unfettered by authoritarian oversight.
His firm’s name, Ego Death Capital, encapsulates his transformation and philosophy. He acknowledges the difficulty of transitioning from a fiat-based worldview to one that embraces Bitcoin. Booth encourages others to follow a similar path: identifying opportunities within the chaos of the current system to foster value in a more equitable one.
As concerns over job displacement and systemic economic anxiety grow—with projections indicating that automation could potentially displace 300 million jobs by 2030—Booth’s perspective remains steadfast. He believes that the very technologies posing threats have the potential to create unprecedented abundance.
Booth paints a hopeful picture of the future, reaffirming that such a reality is already emerging for those willing to adapt. “The future is already here,” he quotes William Gibson, imploring listeners that this choice is available now—it simply requires a shift in mindset to recognize and participate in a world teeming with potential.
