The most successful fiat currency in history has lost 99.5% of its value
Value is certainly relative
Except when we can measure it against what it was designed to be valued in.
Throughout history, just about every fiat currency has failed to hold its value.
In fact, according to dollardaze.org there is no historical precedent for a fiat currency holding its value.
They studied 775 fiat currencies and found that 20% failed due to hyperinflation, 21% were destroyed by war, 12% were destroyed by independence, 24% were reformed, and 23% are still in circulation facing one or more of the above mentioned scenarios.
That's not a very good track record.
But wait, there's more...
The average life span of the fiat currencies they studied came out to roughly 27 years.
As you might have noticed we are well passed that with the US dollar, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is due to collapse eminently, though it also could.
What's the longest surviving fiat currency you might be wondering?
According to the data, the British Pound Sterling is the longest living fiat currency.
It was founded in 1694 meaning it has survived for 325 years.
That is well past the average life span of most fiat currencies!
That means it should be considered an overwhelming success, right?
Well, yes and no.
It's great that it's still alive, but success is relative in this case...
When the British Pound Sterling was first created it was defined as 12 ounces of silver.
Using that value today, the pound sterling is worth 1/200th (or less) of its original value.
That equates to less than .5% of its original value.
That means...
The longest and most successful fiat currency in history has lost 99.5% of its value since its creation.
And that folks, is why bitcoin matters.
*Historical data was pulled from here:
https://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2011/08/average-life-expectancy-for-fiat.html
Stay informed my friends.
-Doc
They all soon go 🤣 but we have Gold, Silver and BTC 👌👍😋
Yes we do. Though one is not like the others...
Ok..ok 😊
Thank you, this is a thought provoking article filled with new and intriguing information.
Thanks, glad you found it interesting.
Cool fact. I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing. Cheers man!
You got it.
When currencies stopped being tied to precious metals or other natural resources, they became virtual like cryptocurrencies... Their real value is essentially zero, but compared to other currencies, their value is non-zero due to supply and demand.
In the old days a currency was essentially promissory note that said government exchanges the paper money or coin to equivalent amount of gold.
Now, it's reversed, as people need to pay using something else to keep their IOU's.
When world stops using cash altogether, currencies cease to exist per original definition.
Yep, nicely said!
I'm a freelance journalist, explaining complicated things to "simple" people is what I do almost daily ;)
When I publish something, I don't need to write my name under, because people know it's written by me just by looking the writing style of the article.
Ha, nice! I feel like I have that ability as well.
I've been writing since 2001... Sometimes what I did write, did happen after I did write about it, not before...
Thanks, I find it interesting.
November 1, 2019... 5.1 Hollywood Time...
When will this sound money be implemented?
Many people are still very sceptical about crypto currencies. Hope it will survive all the naysayers negativity, in the next year and beyond :)
"According to the data, the British Pound Sterling is the longest living fiat currency."
That is interesting view. I gave it 100 %
Yep, it's been around for a while, though lost most of its value. Thanks for the vote!
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