Will bitcoin end the dollar’s reign?

[acquafredda]

When the pandemic hit, the US dollar was as mighty as ever. Despite talk of faltering American supremacy, the dollar ruled as the medium of international trade, the anchor against which other nations value their currencies, and the “reserve currency” most central banks hold as savings.
Before the US, only five powers had enjoyed the coveted “reserve currency” status, going back to the mid-1400s: Portugal, then Spain, the Netherlands, France and Britain. Those reigns lasted 94 years on average. At the start of 2020, the dollar’s run had endured 100 years. That would have been reason to question how much longer it could continue, but for one caveat: the lack of a successor.

Read the article @ https://www.ft.com/content/ea33b688-12e0-459c-80c5-2efba58e6f1a

At the time of writing this thread there was no paywall at Financial Times for this article 

[cr1776]

When the pandemic hit, the US dollar was as mighty as ever. Despite talk of faltering American supremacy, the dollar ruled as the medium of international trade, the anchor against which other nations value their currencies, and the “reserve currency” most central banks hold as savings.
Before the US, only five powers had enjoyed the coveted “reserve currency” status, going back to the mid-1400s: Portugal, then Spain, the Netherlands, France and Britain. Those reigns lasted 94 years on average. At the start of 2020, the dollar’s run had endured 100 years. That would have been reason to question how much longer it could continue, but for one caveat: the lack of a successor.

Read the article @ https://www.ft.com/content/ea33b688-12e0-459c-80c5-2efba58e6f1a

At the time of writing this thread there was no paywall at Financial Times for this article  

Bitcoin can certainly provide an alternative.  It is more likely that statism or authoritarianism (socialism, fascism, communism, totalitarianism etc) will undermine the dollar with bitcoin being there to pick up the pieces vs bitcoin causing it.

As soon as they start debasing fiat currency, it is lost.  

The dollar hasn't hit a century of being fiat yet, a reserve currency based on some objective value can last as long as the political class doesn't debase it.

[DooMAD]

Whether Bitcoin existed or not, the Dollar will end the Dollar's reign.   

Fiat currencies don't last forever.  They can't.  With all debt-based money, eventual failure is an integral part of the recipe.  It's just how they function.  Some last longer than others, but they will all approach worthless at some point.

[bryant.coleman]

Whether Bitcoin existed or not, the Dollar will end the Dollar's reign.   

Fiat currencies don't last forever.  They can't.  With all debt-based money, eventual failure is an integral part of the recipe.  It's just how they function.  Some last longer than others, but they will all approach worthless at some point.

Fiat currencies won't last forever. But that is applicable for cryptocurrencies as well. The US Dollar has survived for more than two centuries, ever since it's introduction in 1792. Do you really think that any of the cryptocurrencies may last that long? Advancement in quantum computing will make the current technology for cryptocurrencies obsolete within the next few decades.

[Lucius]

At the time of writing this thread there was no paywall at Financial Times for this article 

Maybe you read this article on Google Discover on your smartphone like I did? Otherwise, no subscription means no reading.


I can only agree that the US dollar will come to an end to be the world's reserve currency, as the article states that it has happened with other currencies that once had that status (UK, Spain, Netherlands). However, it is not very likely that in the near future Bitcoin will be the one to end $ reign, because I don’t think most countries in the world will agree to use something they can’t control.

Advancement in quantum computing will make the current technology for cryptocurrencies obsolete within the next few decades.

Well, not only will computer technology advance, it is to be expected that cryptocurrencies will also improve in the sense that they become resistant to new challenges. If someone today could say with certainty that in, say, 20-30 years, the security of Bitcoin will be compromised by quantum computers, how would that affect anyone who wants to invest in Bitcoin in the long run?

If you search only Bitcoin Discussion board for "quantum" you will get 5 pages of results, and in more or less everyone the conclusion is that Bitcoin will be able to cope with new security challenges.

[Coinsfera]

Of course, it is very difficult to answer the question, but it seems that way. In fact, if we look at such widespread acceptance of digitalization in this pandemic era, Bitcoin could be the new ruler of the era. People now even make their calls digitally. Of course, digital currencies such as bitcoin will gain importance.

[acquafredda]

At the time of writing this thread there was no paywall at Financial Times for this article 

Maybe you read this article on Google Discover on your smartphone like I did? Otherwise, no subscription means no reading.


I can only agree that the US dollar will come to an end to be the world's reserve currency, as the article states that it has happened with other currencies that once had that status (UK, Spain, Netherlands). However, it is not very likely that in the near future Bitcoin will be the one to end $ reign, because I don’t think most countries in the world will agree to use something they can’t control.

Advancement in quantum computing will make the current technology for cryptocurrencies obsolete within the next few decades.

Well, not only will computer technology advance, it is to be expected that cryptocurrencies will also improve in the sense that they become resistant to new challenges. If someone today could say with certainty that in, say, 20-30 years, the security of Bitcoin will be compromised by quantum computers, how would that affect anyone who wants to invest in Bitcoin in the long run?

If you search only Bitcoin Discussion board for "quantum" you will get 5 pages of results, and in more or less everyone the conclusion is that Bitcoin will be able to cope with new security challenges.

I do not know, I read it on my laptop yesterday not on my smartphone and now the article is under a paywall: I should have copied it here altogether.
About the dollar my only fear is that the end of the dollar means the end of the US supremacy which implies probably some war...

[Lucius]

About the dollar my only fear is that the end of the dollar means the end of the US supremacy which implies probably some war...

For what reason do you think this could happen? It is strange to me that anyone really thinks that the US is preserving world peace while sending military forces to attack sovereign countries causing hundreds of thousands of deaths in the name of some kind of democracy. For me personally, it doesn't matter what happens to the dollar, it should only be a problem for the US - people need to start thinking about how to strengthen their national currencies and look for alternatives.

Can Bitcoin be an alternative, can the Euro become the world's new reserve currency, or will something else take this place?

[davis196]

Whether Bitcoin existed or not, the Dollar will end the Dollar's reign.   

Fiat currencies don't last forever.  They can't.  With all debt-based money, eventual failure is an integral part of the recipe.  It's just how they function.  Some last longer than others, but they will all approach worthless at some point.

More likely the Federal Reserve will end the Dollar's reign,by mass printing more dollars.
Anyway,the US dollar might not be a world's reserve currency after 10-20 years,but it will remain the national currency of USA,as long as USA continues to exist in the next centuries.
USA still has the strongest economy in the world,which means that the US dollar will still be very strong,even though it won't be a reserve currency for many central banks around the world..

[Coinsfera]

When the pandemic hit, the US dollar was as mighty as ever. Despite talk of faltering American supremacy, the dollar ruled as the medium of international trade, the anchor against which other nations value their currencies, and the “reserve currency” most central banks hold as savings.
Before the US, only five powers had enjoyed the coveted “reserve currency” status, going back to the mid-1400s: Portugal, then Spain, the Netherlands, France and Britain. Those reigns lasted 94 years on average. At the start of 2020, the dollar’s run had endured 100 years. That would have been reason to question how much longer it could continue, but for one caveat: the lack of a successor.

People are different in their taste of the medium of transaction. Also, people hardly give up their habits. At the same time, there is so much centralized power that backs the dollars. It is a hard job to do to break the kingdom of USD. Yes, bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies have the potential of overcoming the dollar but unlikely it will happen in near future. It takes time for people and the financial system to adapt to changes. At some point in our lives, yes cryptocurrencies will end the reign of dollar.

[DoublerHunter]

^ In my own opinion, even though your question is a little bit tricky. Well, I don’t believe that bitcoin will end the dollar’s reign. We have to think that central banks that run the dollar have limited resources. Cause they don’t. What I believe is bitcoin can Co-exist with Dollars next big move. And that is running their currency in digital. This is what I strongly believe and I already made research about this.

[hatshepsut93]

We still haven't seen a single government using Bitcoin as a reserve currency, many of them haven't even fully legalized/regulated it. Without it, Bitcoin can't become a replacement for US dollar. Plus, US dollar is also a very popular method for international trade, and Bitcoin with its less than 1 million transactions per day simply can't scale for that. If US dollar had fallen today, some other fiat currency would take its spot, most likely Euro.

[pixie85]

I think that dollar will destroy itself at some point. It will probably take another 100 years but at some point the inflation will make it so that you'll pay 100 USD for a coffee and buying a normal house will cost you millions.

At that point Bitcoin will probably be forked multiple times and worth millions of dollars per coin or completely forgotten. Whatever happens, it won't be soon.

[Wexnident]

Again, Bitcoin was never made to end Dollar, and even if it was better at dollar, it's still a currency that has its advantages. A coexistence between the two is more like it, but with Dollar adopting more and more of what Bitcoin is, all the while being under a centralized organization. The factor of it being under an organization is unavoidable imo, since the population of Earth has a herding tendency, in which we need someone to lead us, to literally let them handle most of the bothersome matters while others only do the most miscellaneous of tasks. Well, it may be different from the dollar that we know right now, but it would most likely just originate from the dollar itself and would be renamed just to show that the government has evolved and improved.

[Darker45]

No, I don't think so. Bitcoin won't ever replace the US dollar as a reserve currency, if indeed it becomes one. That won't happen. Bitcoin might become a major global currency someday but for as long as governments and central banks exist, reserve currencies will always be fiat.

The US dollar will eventually lose its power as the top reserve currency but it will never be due to Bitcoin. Neither will Bitcoin be the next in rank.

[taufik123]

Bitcoin still has some problems that cannot replace conventional currencies. In general, bitcoin only exists as an alternative currency, especially for digital currency. Bitcoin is considered to only fulfill several requirements for the function of the currency, namely only as a means of payment. Bitcoin has no underlying and is not centralized and is not regulated by anyone.

Although currently the use of the digital currency bitcoin has increased significantly, Bitcoin is still unable to replace the conventional currency. Bitcoin is only an alternative means of payment, bitcoin's very volatile nature is also a problem.

[mk4]

From what Zimbabwe and Venezuela taught us, a currency in order to succeed and rule surpreme, it needs to have a limited supply. The only problem with Bitcoin is it cannot operate with no internet that's the only blocking before it can be mass adopted by governments. In terms of innovation it has more security and faster transaction then any major payment processor.

Not necessarily. I'm definitely not saying that the U.S. Dollar will reign forever, but the Zimbabwean Dollar and the Venezuelan Bolívar didn't necessarily implode due to not having a limited supply, but because their government/central bank intentionally or unintentionally fucked up their currency through hyperinflation.

Also, you can use Bitcoin without internet. Though probably not the best solution currently, it's still an alternative: https://blockstream.com/satellite/

[Lorence.xD]

From what Zimbabwe and Venezuela taught us, a currency in order to succeed and rule surpreme, it needs to have a limited supply. The only problem with Bitcoin is it cannot operate with no internet that's the only blocking before it can be mass adopted by governments. In terms of innovation it has more security and faster transaction then any major payment processor.

Zimbabwe and Venezuela are special case, they have a lot of money supply because their government is incompetent and corrupt, I do think that if the increase in supply was planned and was efficient, it will bore different results. The other problem with bitcoin besides the accessibility is the inherent volatility that it possess, if the prices were as stable as a fiat currency, I think that the mass adoption for a reserve currency could have happened ten years ago.

[yazher]

Whether Bitcoin existed or not, the Dollar will end the Dollar's reign.   

Fiat currencies don't last forever.  They can't.  With all debt-based money, eventual failure is an integral part of the recipe.  It's just how they function.  Some last longer than others, but they will all approach worthless at some point.

Now you say this, I was thinking about the price of dollars nowadays. It just doesn't get up like the past few years. It remains on $1 = 48.2 PHP back on the days when I'm not using BTC yet, it won't go down from 50+ PHP now it doesn't have any impact to get up to that high price anymore. I wonder if it's gonna go down below that for the next few years then that would be the end of it I guess.

[avikz]

I personally don't think bitcoin has the power to end Dollars reign! It's too small compared to the US economy whose size is approximately 22 trillion. And if you look at the market cap of the entire crypto market, its only 625 billion USD. So bitcoin and the cryptos don't have the power to overcome the dollar supremacy in any way! Yes, bitcoin to some extent give financial freedom to the adopters and possibly end some dependencies on the banking system, but we still have a long way to go!

There is a reason for moving to a debt based economy, is to maintain the supremacy of US! China is trying to catch up but US is still far ahead in the game! So I don't see any reason for bitcoin to end Dollar's reign anytime soon!