IIRC, Paper money used in the colonies had the exact same problem as Bitcoin, but many different forms of them worked prior to the establishment of the United S

IIRC, Paper money used in the colonies had the exact same problem as Bitcoin, but many different forms of them worked prior to the establishment of the United States and the US Mint. Not everything pre-United States was traded in gold, furs and wigwam. They were a fiat currency that could not be used to pay taxes. What Krugman fails to consider time and time again is the notion of "fitness for use". For international transfers, bitcoin has greater fitness for use than any international currency or other medium of exchange out there. What's missing is fitness for use for day to day transactions, usability, security for the average person and volatility. The former three are being worked on by many people and being solved little by little, and those three are contributing to reduce volatility relative to it's moving average price relative to other currencies.