Imagine if one day Bitcoin and Dogecoin replaced the dollar in the U.S.; what would that look like? The President tweets a shocking message: 'Goodbye Federal Reserve,' while Elon Musk, holding a stuffed Dogecoin toy, solemnly declares: 'Welcome to the new financial era!'
It sounds like a science fiction story, but this scenario becomes strangely alarming as Donald Trump is about to return to the White House with Elon Musk pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Elon's idea, Trump's action
Donald Trump, known for his shocking moves, seems to be aiming to turn the United States into the 'cryptocurrency capital of the world.' His administration is even considering building a 'Bitcoin reserve' to replace gold in the national reserve system.
And Elon Musk? He now leads a new government agency with a catchy name: the 'Department of Government Efficiency' (abbreviated as DOGE). If you think this name is just a coincidence, you may not have been paying close attention. Elon is now powerful enough to be behind Trump's important decision to vote against the government budget just yesterday, according to Bloomberg.
As soon as Trump wins the election, the crypto market explodes. Bitcoin's price soars to $108,000 on December 17, more than double what it was at the beginning of the year. The price of DOGE also does not lag behind, rising by up to 152%, currently stabilizing around $0.36.
Elon Musk's tweets are no longer just humorous memes; they have turned into genuine 'policy suggestions.'
Since DOGE became a symbol of a government agency focused on management efficiency, investors have poured billions of dollars into Dogecoin futures contracts. Open interest (OI)* has skyrocketed from 7 billion to 8.3 billion tokens in just a few short weeks.
However, not everything is always smooth sailing. The crypto market is in a state of extreme chaos. Bitcoin's price is fluctuating wildly, even more violently than the Wall Street financial storm of 2009. Just a single statement from the Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, caused Bitcoin's price to plummet from around $106,000 to $95,800 at the time of writing.
Imagine if cryptocurrencies truly became legal tender in the United States
Imagine if Bitcoin and Dogecoin officially replaced the U.S. dollar. This would certainly completely disrupt the global economy. As a consequence, the U.S. dollar, the world's top reserve currency and the most powerful financial instrument of the United States, would lose its dominant position.
Countries and corporations holding dollars will panic and sell off, causing instability for economies worldwide. Meanwhile, Bitcoin and Dogecoin will have to bear responsibilities they are completely unprepared to handle. Their values will need to stabilize, but this is almost impossible when Bitcoin's price can fluctuate by thousands of dollars in just a few hours.
Inflation would change in unprecedented ways. Traditional economic principles would become almost obsolete. We know that Bitcoin has a fixed supply of 21 million coins, meaning it cannot be 'printed' indefinitely like fiat. Meanwhile, Dogecoin continues to create new coins, but its issuance rate is quite predictable.
These mechanisms will restructure the inflation rate, but what is the cost? The American people will struggle to cope with severe price fluctuations, while businesses may demand a clearer legal system for pricing goods and services.
Speaking of the legal framework, how will taxes be levied on cryptocurrencies? So far, Trump has not made any announcements on this issue. On-chain transactions are decentralized, meaning the government will lose some (or all) control.
Moreover, cyberattacks are also an issue to consider. According to recent reports, this year North Korea has stolen the largest amount of cryptocurrency ever.
At the same time, the transition will face significant troubles. First, cryptocurrencies are extremely inconvenient for daily spending. Imagine buying a cup of coffee with Dogecoin – its value fluctuates so wildly that the price could double or halve before you even take a sip.
Salaries, rent, groceries – all will become a nightmare of value conversion. People may still have to use dollars as a 'ghost currency' to easily visualize prices, similar to how unstable economies informally rely on the U.S. dollar.
But after all, this is not about convenience. Revolutions have never been about convenience.
*OI (open interest) is a measure of the total value of all futures contracts outstanding or 'unsettled' on exchanges, and at the same time, it is an indicator of market price increases as well as trader sentiment around a specific asset.