The title is a reference to the book "Golden Fetters" by Barry Eichengreen which discusses the role the gold standard played in transmitting deflation during th

The title is a reference to the book "Golden Fetters" by Barry Eichengreen which discusses the role the gold standard played in transmitting deflation during the Great Depression. Krugman isn't citing statistics because Eichengreen does the heavy lifting here. He's just reminding people that libertarians who attack the Fed because they want a new gold standard are basically crazy. I agree with his assessment (bitcoin would be a disaster as a national currency), but don't think this is a problem since it is valuable as an asset store and transfer mechanism, and seems to be holding value.