5 ms·

> A paper note backed by BTC is at least marginally better than a paper note backed by nothing. Assuming you are believe the US dollar is a paper note "backed

• UncleOxidant 5y ago
  The US dollar is backed by a large military and nuclear weapons. I don't get these people who are always saying "it's backed by nothing".
  • wyager 5y ago
    > The US dollar is backed by a large military and nuclear weapons. This is a meaningless statement. Please explain explicitly how you think nuclear weapons ensure that the dollar has some trade value. The US government doesn’t offer nuking privileges at a fixed price, to my knowledge.
    • hcknwscommenter 5y ago
      The U.S. government collects taxes throughout the world and those taxes MUST be paid in US dollars. Most international trade eventually (if not exclusively) passes through the dollar system. Since no jurisdiction is entirely self-reliant, basically all aspects of the economic system touch on the dollar directly or indirectly. That tax collection is enforced by an apparatus with many levers of power including, but not limited to, the military and its nuclear weapons. So yes, the dollar is backed by the threat of nuclear annihilation in some sense.