In an interview on Fox Business with Lou Dobbs, the US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, mentioned the US economic capacity and the US dollar. He also has addressed reports that $1.5 trillion worth of $100 bills have disappeared. He attributes the missing money to the high demand for US dollars as a reserve currency.
The dollar has long been known as the reserve currency of the world. Therefore, for inflationary economies, holding dollars (or Bitcoin, but that’s another story) to invest and secure assets is the primary trend.
$ 1.5 trillion in cash missing in action for the high demand for US dollars
Referring to $ 1.5 trillion worth of $ 100 bills have disappeared, Mnuchin thinks that the unaccounted bills are presumably locked away in banks all over the world. He said the missing money was a high demand for the US dollar as a reserve currency. So literally, a lot of $ 100 bills are in bank vaults around the world.
Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury Secretary | Source: Whitehouse.gov
Mnuchin has long been known as a follower of cryptocurrencies. He once called Bitcoin a national security issue. And according to him, it is interesting to see that the demand for the US dollar continues to grow even if the cryptocurrency market is deluding itself.
According to the US Federal Reserve, US dollar circulation reached $ 1.79 trillion on December 9, including $ 12.4 billion in $ 1 bills and $ 1.3 trillion. $ on your $ 100 bill. The latest figures represent a spike in invoices, up from $ 1.2 trillion in 2013.
The Wall Street Journal stated:
“Banks are issuing more notes than ever. However, it seems they seem to be disappearing off the face of the earth. However, central banks don’t know where they have gone, or why. They continue to play detective, trying to crack the same mystery.”
Contrary to Mnuchin’s point of view, Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, argued that the increase in large bills was a sign of a bigger problem.
He said:
“There’s enough evidence to say it is an enabler of corruption. However, it is also a way for people to keep assets outside of the financial system.”
Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research | Source: DataTrek Research
According to a report from the article “America’s Most Powerful Export: Money,” Binyamin Appelbaum points to the proverbial mattress – not banks.
“The available evidence suggests large numbers of $ 100 bills are stuffed in mattresses or other hiding places – particularly in nations where people lack confidence in the value of the domestic currency, or the integrity of the financial system, or the safety of the private property. Dollars are hoarded like diamonds, except dollars are easier to spend.”
Governments and central banks – from China to Sweden – are being prompted to use Blockchain technology for both traceability and faster transactions.
In spite of the advances of governments around the world developing Blockchain-based systems for new digital currencies, they can harness the power of technology, the popularity of mobile devices, and the diverting to immediate and on-demand transactions. However, Mnuchin President and Federal Reserve Jerome Powell argued that we do not need digital currencies in US dollars.
Read more:
- Bitcoin Has Delivered Profits Of Almost 9 Million Percent, Beaten Gold
- Bitcoin Cash Price Is Still Down Compared To Bitcoin Despite Strong Fundamentals