What’s Paper When It’s Backed by Nothing?
Some of the controversy around Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies often centers on the fact that they only exist as a string of digital ones and zeroes and have nothing physical backing them.
But many are surprised to learn that the U.S. dollar has been predominantly digital for over four decades. This transition happened long before the advent of blockchain technology… long before the internet… and even before the PC revolution.
And it reshaped our understanding of money in ways we’re just beginning to grasp fully.
In the early 1970s, President Nixon made a pivotal move that would forever alter the landscape of global finance: he took the United States off the gold standard.
When Nixon did this, the dollar was no longer directly convertible to gold. Instead, its value became dependent on the trust in the U.S. government and its fiscal policies.
This was a monumental shift, moving away from a tangible asset-backed system to one grounded in trusting of the government alone.
This decision wasn’t just a shift in economic policy; it was the start of a new era where the value of money became more about trust in government than about any physical commodity backing it.
Since then, a significant portion of U.S. currency has existed only in digital form. In fact, less than 5% of the broad money supply consists of physical bills and coins — the rest is just numbers on screens, shifting from one account to another in electronic form.
This is a revelation to many, where digital currencies are often viewed with skepticism due to their virtual nature. But the truth is, our financial system has operated in a predominantly digital realm for decades.
The U.S. Dollar’s resilience and acceptance globally have been largely based on the economic stability of the United States, rather than its convertibility into gold or any other physical asset.
The implications for investors and everyday citizens are profound. As digital currencies like Bitcoin attempt to carve out their own space in the financial system, they challenge the conventional views of what money is and what it could be.
They raise questions about security, privacy, and what it means to have “real” money.
But I’m not here to try to sell you Bitcoin or digital investments.
I want you to understand what this means for your money and where the world is going now that this revelation — and the US’s spiraling debt — are finally starting to dawn on people.
Have you noticed gold? It’s been on a run since October and, while it’s taken a bit of a breather, I believe the forces I’ve just discussed will continue driving gold higher.
But you don’t need to wait months or decades for gold to spike again. Because I’ve been using a new strategy to harness micro-movements in the price of gold.
I can’t wait to share this discovery with you.
— Geof Smith
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