Death of the Petro Dollar?

As you may have noticed, I am a proponent of cryptocurrency. I believe in it for many reasons — giving people control over their own finances, lowering the cost of and speeding up transactions, and creating transparency through a distributed ledger. However, in the wake of recent events, there are even more reasons to be bullish on digital currency, and bearish on the US dollar.

Big Oil

It is no secret that one of the keys to America’s economic dominance has long been oil. It was only a few years ago that America became a net exporter of oil, meaning that we have a demonstrated surplus. This was primarily due to the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” However, this has also come with its own set of consequences, namely the environmental devastation of land, water, and air surrounding drilling sites.

However, we have to go back a bit further to reach the real reason that America’s currency has been the de facto medium of exchange on a global scale. In the 1970s, the United States and Saudi Arabia brokered a deal that would set a lasting precedent — oil was to always be priced in USD. When viewing oil prices, you will notice that they are broken into other…