Thursday, November 16, 2023

Did the US abandoning the gold standard under Nixon in the 1970's achieve the same ultimate goal that the Free Silver movement of the 1890's was advocating for?

Apologies if I have any major facts incorrect here, but this is how I understand it:

The Free Silver movement of the 1890's popularly heralded by William Jennings Bryan arose after multiple deflationary crises in the US. The movement came to be seen as representing the views of working class farmers and silver miners in opposition to wealthy bankers and oligarchs. The ultimate goal as I understand it was to encourage inflation as a benefit to the working class stuck with loans that were increasing in value as a result of deflation. The movement hoped to achieve this by introducing silver-backed US currency to the country. All the deflation happening at that time was the result of the strict gold standard that was generally seen as beneficial to the wealthy elites sitting on top of a lot of cash that was only increasing in value with deflation.

Again, sorry if I have any major facts wrong here.

Okay, so fast forward to the 1970's. Nixon broke the US dollar from the gold standard and the results are often referred to as the "Nixon Shock". Obviously we hear a lot about inflation these days and very little about deflation. So my question is, by breaking the US from the gold standard, did Nixon ultimately achieve what those Free Silverites were seeking in the 1890's albeit from a different direction? Did our break from the gold standard change our economic trends from those leaning towards deflation to ones leaning towards inflation? I guess I just want to know how these two historic events (The Free Silverites and the Nixon Shock) relate to each other in terms of economic policy.

Perhaps I should mention that my questions about these topics came up as a result of learning about how cryptocurrency and specifically Bitcoin works. My understanding is that Bitcoin is inherently deflationary and akin to gold and that those treating it as a potential replacement to inflationary fiat currencies may misunderstand the nature of inflationary/deflationary currency.


Distributed Ledger: Why bitcoin ETFs launch won’t be a ‘buy the rumor, sell the news’ event

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-bitcoin-etfs-launch-wont-be-a-buy-the-rumor-sell-the-news-event-9ae2a04c?rss=1&siteid=rss

Crypto news in 2023.11.16.

• The overall cryptocurrency market cap rose by 4.30%, reaching $1.45 trillion.

• Bitcoin’s price increased by 5.21%, with a new trading price of $37,455.

• Render Token was the top gainer with a 35.23% increase, while Kaspa and Avalanche also posted notable gains.

• Memecoin, Arweave, and Rollbit Coin were the top losers of the day.

• Kaspa and Ordinals reached new all-time high prices.

• Render Token was highlighted as the Coin of the Day due to its significant performance and bullish sentiment

• ZOGI Labs IDO: This event marked a significant opportunity for investors to participate in the early stages of a new cryptocurrency project’s funding through an Initial DEX Offering.

• Odyssey AMA with Bybit: This session provided valuable information regarding the Toncoin ecosystem, including how to engage with staking protocols and earn rewards.

• Arbitrum Day: A day filled with informative sessions about Arbitrum’s layer-2 solution, with a focus on its potential to enhance transaction efficiency on the Ethereum network.

• Web3 Gaming Synergy AMA: An event dedicated to discussing the interplay and collaborative potential within the sphere of blockchain-based gaming.

• Decentraland and SmileyWorld Partnership: An exciting collaboration that integrated a well-known fashion brand into the virtual world, signaling a new trend in digital fashion and lifestyle spaces.

• DAO Chronicles: A forum focusing on the future and evolving landscape of decentralized autonomous organizations, which are becoming increasingly central to the governance of crypto projects.
• Nym CEO at WebSummit: The CEO’s talk addressed crucial topics about AI and privacy, which are of paramount importance in the context of blockchain and data security.

• WemixNetwork Compensation: In response to a strategy error, WemixNetwork’s decision to compensate affected users demonstrated accountability and customer care in the crypto space.

• BitMEX Lists Stratis: The listing of Stratis by BitMEX expanded the exchange’s offerings, allowing users to engage in perpetual swaps with this new cryptocurrency.

• Developer Meetup in Istanbul: This event offered a platform for developers to connect, share ideas, and foster collaborations in the regional blockchain and crypto community.

• RF ONLINE NEXT at G-STAR 2023: The reveal of RF ONLINE NEXT at Korea’s largest gaming festival indicated the growing intersection of gaming and blockchain technologies.

• Indodax Lists Optimism: The listing of the Optimism token on Indodax provided traders with more options in the scaling solutions space for Ethereum.

• Status AMA: The AMA session with Status was an opportunity for the community to learn about the platform’s new strategic direction and applications.

• PLEXUS IDO: The launch of PLEXUS’s IDO presented another investment avenue within the decentralized finance ecosystem.

• MetaMask Live Event: A discussion on how MetaMask can extend its functionality to better serve its users, pointing to the wallet’s adaptability and growth.