I am Associate Professor of Philosophy at Northern Illinois University. I once mostly wrote in analytic metaphysics and philosophical logic. Now, I mostly write about money, especially bitcoin, at the intersection of philosophy, politics, and economics. I’m also a Senior Fellow with the Bitcoin Policy Institute.
I’m currently writing a book with Troy Cross on the freedom to transact.
Select Popular Writing
“Bitcoin Reserve: An Idea Ahead of its Time?” (2024, w/ Susan Joseph) TabbForum
“Bitcoin Can Protect Freedom and Help Win Elections” (2024, w/ several others) Newsweek
“Bitcoin as Property” (2022) Bitcoin Policy Institute
“Bitcoin Stands Apart” (2022, w/ Bailey & Rettler) Cointelegraph
“Bitcoin is for Anyone, Left or Right ” (2022, w/ Bailey & Rettler) USA Today
“Bitcoin Behind the Veil” (2022, Bitcoin Times)
“A Layperson’s Guide to Discreet Log Contracts” (2021) Atomic Thoughts
“Why Bitcoin Needs Philosophy” (2020, w/ Bailey & Rettler) CoinDesk
Academic Writing
“Sanctions and Sanctions-Resistant Money” draft, (w/ J. Hendrickson)
“What Satoshi Did” (2025), The Satoshi Papers. (w/ Bailey)
Resistance Money: A Case for Bitcoin (2024) Routledge. (w/ Bailey & Rettler)
“Bitcoin is King” (2023) In J. Liebowitz (ed.), Cryptocurrency: Concepts, Technology, and Issues (w/ Bailey)
“Electronic Coins” (2022) Cryptoeconomic Systems (MIT talk)
“What is Bitcoin?” (2021) Inquiry
“Money Without State” (2021) Philosophy Compass (w/ Bailey & Rettler)
“The Moral Landscape of Monetary Design” (2021) Philosophy Compass (w/ Bailey & Rettler)
Select Media
“On what bitcoin is and other philosophical questions,” 12/20. On the Brink w/ Castle Island
“Bitcoin doesn’t care about your politics,” w/ Bailey and Rettler, 1/21. The Breakdown w/ NLW
“A Philosophical Conversation about Bitcoin,” 5/21. Digital Money Adviser
“The Metaphysics of Bitcoin,” 6/21. Micro-Digressions
“Bitcoin Behind the Veil,” 2/22. The Progressive Bitcoiner
“Bitcoin Behind the Veil,” 6/22. What Bitcoin Did
“Power, Trust and Ethics,” 4/23. DeCenter Spring Conference at Princeton University.
“What Makes Bitcoin Unique among Cryptocurrencies,” 4/23. Bitcoin Policy Summit at the National Press Club.
“Hash Handcuffs", 6/25. Bitcoin Policy Summit at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
warmke@niu.edu | Department of Philosophy | NIU | DeKalb, IL 60115