An interesting new statistic entered the
The podcast Crypto Voices made the claim first. It was later signal-boosted on Twitter by Rhythm Trader before crypto publications started to pick up on it.
Bitcoin Is “The 11th Largest Money in the World”
Bitcoin is currently the 11th largest money in the world,
Crypto Voices tweeted.
It was the first of 31 tweets in a thread that explained their 2019 Second Quarter Report. The report looked at the top 30 currencies in the world, accounting for 94.4% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). That’s US$19.47 trillion. The report looked primarily at fiat
For reference, the UK’s pound ranked 7th, the Australian dollar ranked 14th, and the Canadian dollar ranked 16th.
Crypto Voices looked at Bitcoin compared to the Base Money or Monetary Base because it is a global currency. So, they argued, comparing it to currencies individually would be inappropriate.
The report included a lot of data but all of the data is reliable and regularly available. Information on Bitcoin is, of course, public. Information on fiat currencies
Millions of people have chosen a bank with no CEO, office, or marketing department,
Rhythm tweeted in response. And it should completely blow your mind.
Why It Matters
That a cryptocurrency is the eleventh largest monetary system in the world is pretty neat. It’s more than that, however. It’s part of the argument that it will one day replace gold.
The monetary argument for it replacing fiats is the same as that held by the crypto zealots. Because it isn’t controlled by any one government, its value is beyond any one government’s control.
The monetary argument for it replacing gold has to do with scarcity and price doubling. Scarcity is built into Bitcoin in that a set volume is released every so often. So, while the value has gone up and down, the supply has steadily grown. Scarcity is occasionally increased by halving every four years. However, that will only go on until the last coin is mined in 2140.
After that, the volume will no longer change, making it more stable than any other currency. That includes other cryptocurrencies. Most altcoins also have a halving system, but have more coins in circulation.
Comments on the Study
The crew at Crypto Voices did a lot of work to put their report together. However, as with any report, there is room for questions and comments.
First, many of their statistics look at the 21M total Bitcoin that will exist in 2140 rather than the 17.8M currently in circulation. Further, many coins have been famously lost to us by early adopters who left after the cryptocurreny’s early boom days and have since lost their keys. While these coins still exist and account for value, they are irretrievable. Rather like if someone had thrown unknown pounds of gold into a volcano or the bottom of the sea.
Final Thoughts
While there are a few questions that we could ask regarding this study, there aren’t many and they aren’t too significant.
The study convincingly shows that Bitcoin is a bigger player than many critics give it credit for. The authors also give another convincing argument as to why the cryptocurrency may one day rule the world.
