River Report: Average Lifespan of Fiat Currency is 27 Years Since 1700, Most Purchasing Power Reduced to Zero
According to River data, the average lifespan of fiat currency since 1700 is only 27 years, with many currencies ending due to hyperinflation or being replaced, and purchasing power loss commonly exceeding 90% or even 99.9%.
Charts show that existing currencies like the pound and dollar have also lost over 97% of their purchasing power, with cases like Zimbabwe and Venezuela being particularly extreme.
From a market mechanism perspective, the historical devaluation of fiat currency reinforces the narrative of Bitcoin as hard currency, with institutions and long-term investors accelerating their allocation to Bitcoin to hedge against currency risk, providing structural support for demand in crypto assets.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
River has previously released multiple studies comparing Bitcoin and fiat currency, and this lifespan chart continues to emphasize the long-term unsustainability of fiat currency, aligning closely with historical cases of currency collapse.
In terms of capital flow, the history of fiat currency devaluation drives wealth towards scarce assets, with Bitcoin attracting traditional capital reallocation as a non-sovereign store of value, benefiting mining and custody services from the influx of safe-haven funds.
Similar to the hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic and Zimbabwe, where gold or alternative assets appreciated, the current global monetary system is undergoing a transformation phase characterized by erosion of trust and the rise of alternative assets.
Essentially, this is about capital concentration; systemic devaluation of fiat currency will transfer purchasing power from sovereign currencies to scarce digital assets, driven by historically proven inflation tax and trust collapse, pushing long-term capital to permanently migrate from easily devalued fiat currencies to hard assets like Bitcoin.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
Fiat currency has an average lifespan of 27 years, while Bitcoin, born only 16 years ago, has already proven to be superior.
Purchasing power reduction to zero is not an exception, but the default outcome of fiat currency.
The faster the government prints money, the stronger the pricing power of hard assets.