Key Points
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New concerns over tariffs have some investors thinking that Bitcoin might replace the dollar as the global reserve currency.
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Bitcoin does not yet meet the three essential criteria needed to become a true reserve currency.
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Bitcoin hoarding by a relatively small number of corporations and financial institutions limits its appeal as a reserve currency.
Given the concerns over tariffs and a potential global trade war, a growing number of investors have suggested that Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) might eventually replace the U.S. dollar and become the global reserve currency. Is this likely to happen? The answer, of course, is no.
Does Bitcoin meet the criteria of a reserve currency?
First of all, it’s debatable whether Bitcoin has the right characteristics to be a true reserve currency. According to the Federal Reserve, money must serve three critical functions. It must be a store of value. It must be a medium of exchange. And it must be a unit of account. Bitcoin does not yet meet all three of these essential criteria.
While Bitcoin is a store of value, it is not yet a popular medium of exchange for making everyday transactions. When was the last time that you used Bitcoin to pay for anything?
Moreover, Bitcoin is not yet used as a unit of account. In other words, companies don’t price their goods or services in Bitcoin. When you walk into a supermarket, for example, the goods on the shelves are priced in dollars, not Bitcoin. When you pump gas at the gas station, you see a price displayed in dollars, not Bitcoin.
Even though Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin to be a digital currency, it really trades more like a global commodity these days. People buy and hold Bitcoin, they don’t spend it. For that reason, it has become fashionable to refer to Bitcoin as digital gold. Gold, too, started off as a currency, with people making gold coins to trade for things of value.
Impact of tariffs
It is, however, possible to imagine a future scenario in which Bitcoin finally becomes a true medium of exchange or a unit of account. However, it is highly unlikely, to say the least. It would require a tectonic readjustment of the global financial system, such as occurred in the 1920s (when the dollar replaced the pound as the global reserve currency), or in the 1970s, when the U.S. officially moved off the gold standard.
In 2025, discussion is building about Bitcoin replacing the dollar. The prospect of a global trade war, combined with an out-of-control U.S. debt load of $37 trillion, has some investors thinking that nations around the world will eventually turn their back on the U.S. dollar. A natural replacement might be Bitcoin, given its global appeal and its non-sovereign status.
