Government’s control of money has begun to take its toll on economies worldwide. As a result, people are seeking refuge in alternatives. Gold has traditionally been the commodity with the strongest track record as a currency. Even with governments going off the gold standard, individuals still desire holding the commodity to protect their wealth.
However, the 21st century has witnessed the rise of new alternatives in the form of cryptocurrencies. This new digital money promises a unique solution to the pitfalls of fiat money. Most prominent among them is Bitcoin, which markets itself as a censorship resistant currency with a fixed supply of 21 million bitcoins.
People have become less trusting of government and legacy institutions such as the Federal Reserve in recent decades. Because of this growing skepticism towards U.S. institutions, people are increasingly turning to market forms of money. Whether it’s the most proven commodity to serve a monetary role in human history such as gold or an experimental form of currency such as Bitcoin, people have lost confidence in the present monetary order.
Time will only tell if Americans begin to take the fateful step of opting out of the fiat system.