[JumpCrisscross]

> If it can't be _your_ currency let it at least be a currency no other nation controls

At that point just hoard resources. Holding a bunch of Bitcoin in a crisis is useless for a country if no other country will buy them off you in exchange for tradeable hard currency.

[krupan]

"just hoard resources" really has nothing to do with a world currency to replace the dollar, which is what we are talking about here. In a crisis you can't eat dollars, gold, oil, or bitcoin, so yeah, you kinda have a point, but an orthogonal one.

[JumpCrisscross]

> In a crisis you can't eat dollars, gold, oil, or bitcoin

But you can easily trade dollars for stuff Americans will sell you. That's the advantage of a national backer. In a crisis, they'll welcome the influx of capital in exchange for goods and services. Precisely what you need it you want to spend it.

This is why sanctions fuck up reserve calculations. If, in a crisis, America will sanction you, you might as well have held gold or Bitcoin.

[RealityVoid]

You are right. My point is that if you have international trade of even mild complexity, having a currency is very convenient so trade will end up being denominated in one. No reason it can't be some crypto that is not backed by any nation.

[JumpCrisscross]

> No reason it can't be some crypto that is not backed by any nation

There is a great reason: a state-backed currency should always be accepted by that state. If the world is in crisis, you may wind up stuck with your Bitcoins.

[RealityVoid]

I thought we were talking about World reserve currency here i.e. international trade.

I agree that you need the currency to be accepted by the state for good local trade support. But that was not the point.

[JumpCrisscross]

> thought we were talking about World reserve currency here i.e. international trade

Yes. If you're a random country, you can use your dollars to buy shit from America. Countries hold reserves for basically two direct reasons: to intervene in FX markes and protect their imports. The latter is the main one. At the end of the day, your ideal reserve composition matches your import portfolio because you want currency you can send to the people who are selling you shit.

[engineer_22]

Is it a conspiracy theory that Bitcoin was developed by the US military as a hedge against US dollar hyperinflation? I've heard that argument made somewhere but maybe it was just a rumor to try to legitimize Bitcoin?

[JumpCrisscross]

> Is it a conspiracy theory that Bitcoin was developed by the US military as a hedge against US dollar hyperinflation?

Yes, none of that makes an iota of sense. If a military wants to take inflation into its own hands, it has far-better options. From hoarding to, you know, taking shit.