Ron Paul

By Bill Taylor/ Contributor I'm sure everyone has heard the saying

"everything old is new again"

(and if you hadn't you just did........you're welcome) so let's re-visit an on going 'debate': should the US go back to a gold backed currency? Ah, but to keep up with current technology, let's throw in a crypto component. And, this "new old thought" is being championed by former senator and presidential candidate Ron Paul, himself a forward thinking "seasoned" and informed expert. Mr. Paul has been a vocal critic of the Federal Reserve and monetary policy for years and has advocated a return to the gold standard in America. Now, he is contemplating how a combination of gold and cryptocurrencies could possibly replace the dollar (and other fiats as well). Far fetched?

NO!

Will it happen?

YES!

There have been many calls for monetary reform over the past several decades as government spending, rising deficits and ever looser money creation always seems to court disaster. Of course, just because a disaster

doesn't

happen doesn't mean it

won't

happen. Just ten years ago a worldwide financial disaster was narrowly avoided by opening the printing press spigots and flooding the globe with money (final implications pending). Each 'crisis' over the decades has gotten bigger and bigger and at some point (not if, but when) there will be no solutions. This is what Mr. Paul warns of...........central bank/Federal Reserve mismanagement and a collapse of fiat currencies. Actually, people around the world

ARE

beginning to seek alternatives to the dollar (fiats in general). Bitcoin started the ball rolling and even "seasoned" Senator Paul is encouraging bitcoin investments. In his view (I like it) he labels "the Federal Reserve Bank, the Treasury Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as protectors of monetary elites.” He pitches that competition with the dollar should be legal and thinks a new economic model combining gold and cryptocurrencies using blockchain may be the answer. One serious problem combining gold with cryptos is that while blockchain is a totally distributed ledger with no central control almost all the world's gold is in central banks vaults. So, assuming a bitcoin backed gold is embraced, where is the gold backing held (my backyard is too small)? A few details, obviously, are yet to be solved.

BUT,

taken the world's financial and geopolitical state, perhaps that solution needs to found soon. Before anyone shakes their head.......

WHAT IF?

Bill Taylor is Managing Partner at Fintek Capital & a frequent contributor to FintekNews