Currency Devaluation: A Tepid Argument For Bitcoin

If you pay attention to global news, you’re well-aware of the currency collapses of recent decades in Argentina, Hungary, Ukraine, Iceland, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and Germany. If you’ve been studying the trajectory of the US dollar since 1971 when the US unilaterally terminated convertibility of the US dollar to gold, effectively rendering the dollar a fiat currency, you may be nervous. If you’re not educated and on edge, I don’t know whether to wag my finger at you or nod in agreement that ignorance is bliss.

After nearly a decade of hearing about bitcoin, I finally did my research in 2020 after monitoring the collapse of the Venezuelan bolivar and the subsequent utility of a digital currency. When reflecting on crypto’s volatility, a common sentiment is “I would rather have a digital asset whose price goes up and down than a currency whose only real trend is down.”

Currency collapse is by no means a recent phenomenon. Take a look at Rome. The denarius was originally 4.5 grams of pure silver but, over time, Roman officials decreased the purity of their coinage and and put more coins into circulation. The purity and value were continually debased, transferring wealth away from the people. Within a few generations, coins went from 100% pure silver to bronze with a 0.5% silver coat. Hyperinflation, soaring taxes, and worthless money created a trifecta that dissolved much of Rome’s trade. This ultimately led to the collapse of the Roman Empire. If you pay attention to the Federal Reserve, you’ll see that we’re following the same path.

I’m not suggesting Bitcoin is the solution. I don’t believe it is. And I’m not confident that Bitcoin won’t be outlawed in the US like it is in Boliva, Ghana, and Quatar, or restricted like in China and Russia. However, I know that fiat currency is being continually devalued through the printing of more money. We’ve seen hyperinflation in the past and, as much as the US Press Secretary tries to play down inflation, we are all feeling the pinch today. Personally, I think the US dollar will collapse, and likely within my lifetime. And economic collapse inevitably leads to societal collapse.

I can’t afford to buy land. I can’t afford bars of gold and silver. I can’t afford to buy a profit-generating business. I don’t have the space to store commodities like alcohol and diapers for trade. For me, digital currently is an anti-inflationary store of value, and thus a hedge against the future loss of value of my savings. It’s the only alternative to fiat currency within my reach. So, each week, I convert a bit of my fiat currency into bitcoin. If, at some future date, the value of my cash savings drop to near-zero, I might not be left completely empty-handed.