When people hear about Bitcoin, the first thoughts that often come to mind are wild price swings or speculative trading. But if you dig deeper, you’ll realise that Bitcoin is more than just an asset—it’s a response to long-standing problems in the financial system. Let’s break down four reasons why Bitcoin matters.
1. Study Fiat Debasement
Every government in the world issues fiat money—currencies like the Singapore dollar, US dollar, or euro. These currencies aren’t backed by anything scarce; governments can print more whenever they need to. Over time, this leads to debasement—your money buys less and less.
Take a simple example: if you kept S$100 in cash under your mattress 20 years ago, it would have lost significant purchasing power today because of inflation. That’s the hidden tax of fiat money. Bitcoin, with its fixed supply of 21 million coins, was designed to counter this trend. Studying fiat debasement helps you see why Bitcoin is often called “sound money.”
The Singapore dollar (SGD) has been relatively strong compared to many regional currencies, thanks to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) maintaining a tight monetary policy. But that doesn’t mean Singaporeans are immune to fiat debasement.
Look at the rising cost of living: kopi that used to cost $1 is now $1.80 or more, housing prices have climbed steadily, and everyday essentials stretch our wallets thinner each year. Even with low inflation compared to other countries, the purchasing power of your cash savings erodes over time.
2. Learn Sound Money Principles
For centuries, gold was considered sound money because it was scarce and couldn’t be easily created. Bitcoin takes this principle into the digital age. Its scarcity is programmed into the code, and no central bank or government can change that.
Understanding Bitcoin teaches you about the core principles of money: scarcity, portability, divisibility, and durability. Unlike gold, Bitcoin is borderless and can be transferred globally within minutes. This makes it not just sound money—but better money for a digital world.
3. Hedge Against Systemic Risks
Bank runs, currency crises, and financial collapses are not relics of the past. In fact, we’ve seen multiple banking failures in recent years, and countries like Argentina and Turkey continue to suffer from currency crises.
Bitcoin gives individuals the ability to opt out of fragile systems. You hold your own keys, you own your money. No bank can freeze it, no government can arbitrarily inflate it away. While Bitcoin is still volatile, its role as a hedge against systemic risks is growing stronger as traditional systems show their cracks.
While MAS protects depositors with schemes like SDIC (capped at S$100,000), Bitcoin gives you an additional layer of resilience by being borderless and independent of traditional finance.
4. Participate in Financial Innovation
Beyond being a store of value, Bitcoin is also part of a broader financial revolution. The technology behind it—blockchain—has sparked entire industries, from decentralised finance (DeFi) to new ways of transferring value across borders.
By learning about Bitcoin, you’re not just studying money—you’re also participating in one of the most important technological shifts of our time. Think of how the internet changed communication; Bitcoin and blockchain are on track to change how we handle value, ownership, and trust.
In Singapore, we position ourselves as a fintech hub. MAS has launched initiatives like Project Ubin (exploring blockchain for payments) and Project Guardian (tokenised assets). This shows that even our regulators see blockchain and digital assets as part of the future.
Bitcoin is not just about price speculation. It’s about understanding why our current financial system works the way it does—and why it often fails us. Studying fiat debasement, learning sound money principles, hedging against systemic risks, and participating in financial innovation are four solid reasons to pay attention.
With Bitcoin getting more entrenched and accepted within the traditional finance world, the question no longer is “Why Bitcoin?” — it’s “Can you afford to ignore it?”
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