Will Bitcoin or the Dollar Win the War?

Andy Snyder|October 19, 2020

We went to Gettysburg the other day.

It’s a small town with a big history. It’s a history that’s on the minds of many today.

Freedom. Government. Equality. The air may be quiet, but the spirits of the old town and the hallowed fields that surround it scream those words. They beg us to ponder their merit and their worth.

The ties to today are clear.

If we believe the polls, nearly 2 in 3 Americans are worried about another Civil War.

If that’s you… there’s a tie to the past you should know about.

It’s as important today as it was when brother took aim at brother some 157 years ago.

It’s money.

The Day the Creeks Ran Red Green

Stroll into The Horse Soldier antique shop that sits just yards from where Lincoln raised his hand and begged future generations not to forget the ideas inside the men who fought in Gettysburg… and you’ll see lots and lots of money.

There are Confederate notes…

Next to them are “ten-cent bills” issued by the city of Wilmington, Delaware.

You’ll see money issued by the Bank of Columbus… cash from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company… a $10 note from the Farmer’s Bank of Virginia… even a $2 bill issued by the Central Bank of Alabama.

The images on the bills paint a vivid scene.

There are pictures of trains… a symbol of progress.

Some notes feature honeybees… promoting unity and hard work. North Carolina, though, went a different direction. It featured a hornet’s nest… showing defiance to anybody who threatened its land.

And, of course, there’s Minerva. The virgin goddess of wisdom and commerce found her scantily clad body printed on all sorts of bills.

Oh how the dirty business of funny money soiled her perfect reputation.

One thing is clear in it all. A country with no good money… a country whose money is in question… is hardly a country at all.

Some Things Don’t Change

As we leave the antique store and the little bell on the door startles us back to modern reality, we can’t help but thumb through the bills growing dusty in our wallet.

We can’t help but note the alternatives that have risen in their place.

We can’t help but ponder what it means.

Just as the rebels touring Gettysburg so long ago realized… if money is little more than a promise… can’t anybody make the same half-hearted promise?

The Central Bank of Alabama had no more and no less authority than Satoshi Nakamoto, the person or group of people behind Bitcoin.

Facebook and its vivid vision of Libra are backed by no more and no less than the cash printed and spent by the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company.

And Jack Dorsey, the man behind Square, should have no reservations choosing to store his company’s reserves in digital coins over freshly printed dollars.

They’re all backed by little more than the machine that created them.

The People’s Money

In the end, we know it’s not gold and silver reserves that will prop things up. It’s not the promise-keeping ability of a man and his lawbook.

It’s the people and their belief in what’s right… and what stores more value.

Let us not forget the words Lincoln uttered on that cool November day on the fringes of Gettysburg’s fight for freedom.

The best ones are buried deep…

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth.

As we compare today with yesterday to get a sense of tomorrow, we must ponder those words.

As we look at our money and ponder its worth today versus yesterday, we must remember it’s not the country that backs it up. It’s the people.

Bitcoin… Ethereum… China’s new digital yuan… or perhaps the dollar. Which one will win the war and rule the day?

It’s a question on the mind of so many readers.

We don’t have the answer. Nobody knows.

But our money is on the people.

And – right now – the people are stirring.

How long until they put the dollar under the antique store’s counter?

P.S. We recently released a presentation on what we believe is the next nasty chapter in the history of American money. It includes a look back at how we got here. Most important, it includes details of what you must do right now to prepare for what may lie ahead. Click here.

Will the dollar lose the war to Bitcoin and other cryptos? Share your thoughts at mailbag@manwardpress.com.