Entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban recently speculated that geopolitical instability and inflationary pressures may propel Bitocin to become a global reserve asset.
According to the billionaire, increased support in Silicon Valley for former President Trump could signify a “Bitcoin play” from the Big Tech sector. Cuban explained that the United States’ geopolitical role has come under question and inflationary pressures may worsen with the introduction of future tax cuts already promised by the former president.
Taken together, these developments act as the perfect catalysts to drive the price of Bitcoin (BTC) higher, Cuban said, before clarifying that he wasn't saying these things will happen, but they are not out of the realm of possibility.
Inflation, geopolitical instability, and the role of digital assets
It is no secret that fiat currencies continue to suffer from inflationary printing. This also includes the US dollar, which is the primary currency used for cross-border trade settlement and savings.
Earlier this year, former United States Speaker of the House Paul Ryan discussed the role stablecoins could play in saving the dollar and maintaining its global hegemony. Ryan argued stablecoins are a way to retain dollar dominance in the face of extraordinarily high debt obligations and competition from China's yuan.
Although the fundamentals of fiat-pegged stablecoins are the same as those of the underlying currencies they represent, dollar stablecoins would increase demand for the greenba, potentially mitigating a debt crisis.
In Venezuela, the economic hardships created by sanctions, government corruption, and runaway inflation are causing increasing numbers of individuals to turn to cryptocurrencies for relief. Digital assets accounted for 9% of the total remittances sent to Venezuela in 2023.
The growing number of crypto remittances is reflective of the low transactional costs and near-instant finality times when compared to traditional fiat remittance services.
Argentina is another case study of a population beset by inflation seeking refuge in digital currencies. Argentina has an annual inflationary rate of 276%, which has driven the population to embrace cryptocurrencies at a disproportionate rate relative to the population.