What is Inflation?
Inflation is the process through which a currency's value depreciates over time, leading consumer goods prices to rise. Because most economists feel that some inflation is beneficial to the economy, the United States government, for example, has issued far more money than consumers require for decades.
Inflation occurs when the value of a currency, such as the dollar or the Euro, depreciates over time, causing the cost of commodities to rise. Bitcoin (and a few other cryptocurrencies) are built to have predictable and low inflation rates. One feature that has attracted investors to cryptocurrencies, notably Bitcoin, is the belief that they are more resistant to inflation than fiat currencies like the US dollar.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, has risen in value far faster than the US dollar has fallen in value, rising from near zero in 2010 to over $67,500 in late 2021. (Because Bitcoin is such a volatile market, it has witnessed huge rises and falls, but the overall trend has been upward.) As a result, Bitcoin is becoming a more attractive hedge against fiat currency inflation.
The fundamental method Bitcoin is meant to prevent inflation is that its supply is restricted and known, and new bitcoin generation will taper off in a predictable manner over time. (There will only ever be 21 million bitcoins, and the number mined is decreased by half every four years.)
Does Inflation Affect Cryptocurrency?
Because the dollars or Euros they put in a savings account are losing value over time, a high inflation rate for fiat currencies may induce people to invest more in digital money. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, provide an option for investors. The Bitcoin market's economics are complicated, but the digital currency has several built-in qualities that may help it withstand inflation.
- Bitcoin, like gold and other precious stores of value, is expected to gain in value in uncertain times, according to common thinking. (This hasn't always been the case; for example, during the commencement of the COVID epidemic, it plummeted along with the stock market.) It's also a lot easier to store and send value than gold because it can all be done on the internet.
- One of the keys to making a store of value resistant to inflation is scarcity. The total number of bitcoins will never exceed 21 million. Miners process a new "block" every ten minutes, adding 6.25 bitcoin to the network. (The mining reward will drop to 3.125 bitcoin in 2024, and then reduce by half every four years until all bitcoin is mined.) Halving is the name for this technique, which is included into the Bitcoin protocol.)
Will Cryptocurrency Protect Against Inflation?
No, Bitcoin is technically subject to inflation as more of it is mined (as does gold). Bitcoin's inflation rate will also fall since the number of new bitcoin is automatically lowered by 50% every four years.
To claim that bitcoin does not safeguard against growing inflation would be rash. True, the claim that it protects against inflation is based on shaky data. There hasn't been much of an opportunity to put that assertion to the test, and when it has, cryptocurrency's performance hasn't always backed up the theory. But crypto hasn't been given a chance to fail.
In conclusion, while it's plausible to assume that bitcoin would aid in the survival of a portfolio against inflation's ravages, that plan is far from certain. Purchasing Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities is a more safer option, albeit it may be less profitable.
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