FTX and the Age of Fiat Money

In which we see the collapse of FTX’s token as a symptom of America’s abandonment in its own currency of the principles of sound money.

AP/Elise Amendola, file
Twenty-dollar bills are counted on June 15, 2018, at North Andover, Massachusetts. AP/Elise Amendola, file

The best story so far on the collapse of FTX, at least in our view, is A.R. Hoffman’s dispatch in the Sun that marks the drama as a feature of our national experiment in fiat money. After all, if America had a sound currency, one anchored in the classical monetary specie of gold or silver, we wouldn’t have so many young geniuses out there hawking crypto coins and tokens as units of account and mediums of exchange.

What makes the point so devastating right now is that while the collapse in the value of FTX tokens, known as FTT, is breathtaking, it is no more breathtaking than the collapse over the past 50 years in the value of our own government’s Federal Reserve Notes. The collapse in the value of the dollar might have been more gradual, but since 1971 the greenback has shed 98 percent of its value, as has FTX’s token in the recent debacle.

Enter your email to read this article.

Get 2 free articles when you subscribe.

or
Have an account? This is also a sign-in form.
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Advertisement
The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use