A bitcoin symbol from 2013
Is bitcoin any better or worse than normal fiat currency? For that matter, what is fiat currency?
In reality, your money stands for nothing except confidence. It once was the case that money was backed by gold or some other precious metal. That limited the supply of money and acted as an inflationary control.
While corruption will always exist, fiat money also allows governments to make decisions that are short term rather than long term. Instead of paying back debts, the government simply “invents” more money. In reality, it just devalues the value of the money itself by creating more of it. Remember, worth is often determined by scarcity. It allows governments to get away with more than they might otherwise. It is what is right in the government’s own eyes (cf. Jdg 17:6).
Fiat money also allows speculation, which makes bubbles and results in spectacular bursting.
So, is bitcoin any safer? Less so? I suppose that depends. I take a look at this in “Bitcoins Just Cannot Stay Out of the News, but Is Any Fiat Currency Really Any Better?”