Inflation games: Bitcoin competes with fiat on value but lacks volume

摘要： Amid global economic contraction, Bitcoin appears to be gaining momentum against struggling fiat currencies.

Bitcoin being regarded as “sound money” is a common refrain among many proponents of the popular cryptocurrency. With a finite supply of 21 million and a network secured by over 120 exahashes per second of computing power, the consensus among industry commentators has often leaned toward it becoming a global monetary superpower.

Barely a decade into its existence, Bitcoin’s inferred value is already the 11th-largest global monetary base. Earlier in November, Bitcoin became larger than the Russian ruble for the first time in history.

While fiat currencies buckle under economic strain exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, Bitcoin (BTC) has continued on its upward trajectory for most of 2020. Even though the price fluctuations are much more volatile, BTC is up about 120% year-to-date despite the Black Thursday event, a substantial decline suffered back in mid-March.

With economic recovery plans likely involving considerable stimulus packages, such cash injections are expected to cause significant devaluation in fiat currency values. If Bitcoin follows through on the parabolic advance predicted by numerous market analysts, it stands ready to move even higher up the global monetary base log.

The entire record of world reserve currency history remains consistent with the fact that monetary bases rise and fall. In the six monetary epochs since 1450, no currency has maintained global dominance for more than 110 years. With the U.S. dollar standing at 95 years of being the world’s reserve currency, some are hoping this is a sign that things may change soon.

Fiat currencies weaken

Despite being the most gold-backed fiat currency in the global market, the Russian ruble now has a lower monetary base than Bitcoin. With the ruble losing further ground to the U.S. dollar and BTC jumping to the $16,000 mark, 1 BTC now equals 1.2 million rubles. Up next for Bitcoin in its assault of major currencies is the Canadian dollar. Based on its current circulating supply, a move above $18,000 for BTC would see it overtaking the CAD.

As previously reported, Bitcoin is already at all-time highs against seven national currencies including those of Brazil, Argentina and Turkey. Rising inflation exacerbated by economic stagnation occasioned by COVID-19 has negatively impacted several fiat currencies.

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詳見全文Full Text： cointelegraph.com

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