Is the Anger Toward Fiat Currency Justified?

Back in 2012, the Cato Institute published a paper titled The Coming Fiat Money Cataclysm and the Case for Gold. The libertarian think tank is hardly unique in its animosity toward the fiat currency system, nor was its 2012 paper wholly unique in its concepts and sentiments. It did, however, predict some of the issues we are trying to resolve today, notably inflation linked to the era of “cheap” money through low-interest rates.

Today, if you look at social media, particularly platforms like Reddit and Twitter/X, you’ll also find plenty of derisory posts about the fiat system. What’s more, we might argue, albeit unscientifically, that the backlash is growing. Some of this can be quantified. For example, there is some correlation between the rise of Bitcoin as hard money with a limited supply and
the criticism of the fiat currency system. However, some of it is not so easy to quantify, such as the animosity toward fiat currency being linked to wider dissatisfaction with the state.

But is any of it justifiable? The problem with answering that question is that there are both economic and sociological answers. The former is easier to frame, whereas the latter is not. Let’s start, though, by analyzing what we mean by fiat currency, which will help us understand its critics.

Fiat currency is effectively all money

Fiat currency is essentially money not backed by a physical commodity (gold or silver, for instance). It is, therefore, nearly all the money in existence in the world today. When you look at the trillions of dollars being traded in forex markets, it is fiat currency that’s being traded. The Canadian dollar used to be partially backed by gold, and some of its value is derived
from oil prices, but despite some arguments to the contrary, it remains a fiat currency.

So, why, then, should we criticize money? Well, it’s due to the fact that having no physical backing, such as a lump of gold or a barrel of oil, central banks and governments can print that money out of thin air. The charge against it is that printing new money creates more of it (naturally), and that eventually devalues it. You’ll often see anti-fiat accounts on Twitter/X
posting charts of how their currency’s purchasing power has declined or will decline over time. This is the economic argument against fiat currencies.

This chart shows how many years it would take for each fiat currency to lose 50% of its buying power if today's inflation rates remained constant.

The red line marks the average number of years worked before retirement.

There will be no retiring if one chooses to save in fiat. pic.twitter.com/P5CjXg5v3e

— Sam Callahan (@samcallah) April 2, 2024

However, the argument loses merit when certain factors are pointed out. Yes, the Canadian dollars in your pocket lose purchasing power over time, and that’s why you can’t buy a house for the same price as your grandparents. Yet, you also will earn a lot more than your grandparents. If something used to cost a dollar and you earned ten per hour later costs five
dollars, yet you earn fifty per hour, there isn’t really a problem. Of course, that’s just the theory, and it does not always work that way in practice.

Wages keeping up with inflation

In Canada, for example, disposable personal income has tripled since 2001. It also increased in the last quarter of 2023 (the latest period for measurement). Have wages kept up with inflation? Not always; you might look at everything from the cost of a cup of coffee to your mortgage payments to consider that it hasn’t. But the problem is not fiat currency in and of itself. It is the balance between price rises and the amount of money you earn. From the period 2019-2022, average hourly wages grew 12.5% in Canada; CPI rose 10.1% in that time. There were accelerated periods of inflation, particularly in the aftermath of the pandemic, but on balance, wages kept up with inflation.

Now, none of this is meant to say that the fiat system is perfect, nor does it suggest that the government and central banks get it right on balancing the system. But broadly speaking, the antagonism toward fiat currency tends to be more sociological than economic. In short, people are angry at the system, not fiat currency itself. Those pushing the demise of fiat currency are often anti-establishment, at least ostensibly. They are interested in concepts like Bitcoin not only for financial reasons but also because it is not a creation of the state.

Their concerns do go into other areas, such as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and it leads them to see the fiat currency system as one of control. How valid are those concerns about CBDCs? We would be foolish to dismiss them, and there should be perhaps a sense of frustration that the mainstream media is broadly ignoring the threat. At the moment, the official line from Canada is that there are no plans for a CBDC – yet. However, and this is important – the BoC is apparently researching the “need” for one in the future.

What would that “need” be? Could it be the control of citizens’ finances? There is an all-too-scary suggestion that this could be the route that governments take, where fiat currency becomes less money and more like social credit. You drink or gamble too much? Well, the government will freeze the money in your account until you prove you are spending responsibly. If we go into a situation where fiat currency becomes a system of control, then inflation is the least of our worries.

For some, there is a sense of a tipping point on the horizon. We have this situation where governments are constantly printing money – and taking on huge amounts of debt – and we have the specter of CBDCs. You can, therefore, understand the allure of Bitcoin and other decentralized forms of currency, although those systems in themselves are not perfect. The
question, though, is whether we meet these challenges before the tipping point is reached?

Todayville Content Team

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Published on March 26, 2025

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When it comes to regulating gambling, Canada has a somewhat relaxed approach. The Canadian Gaming Association oversees the industry, but it’s up to individual provinces to enact and enforce any laws relating to online casino gaming, sports betting, traditional casino gaming, and other forms of gambling.

Canada’s online casino gaming laws are not totally clear, but individual provinces are starting to put this right. Ontario was the first and did so when it launched its own regulated igaming market in April 2022. Now some other provinces have followed suit, creating a safer igaming environment for players in those provinces. Below is a look at gambling in Canada compared to other parts of the world, at gaming laws in Alberta compared to other provinces, and at the future of the Canadian, US, and UK gambling industries.

Canada: a forever love of gambling

Gambling in some form or other has always been popular in Canada. Way back in the 1990s, research found six in ten Canadians (60%) gambled every month. Additionally, four in ten (43%) spent between 1 and 20 Canadian dollars on gambling. Fast forward to today and the Canadian gambling market is worth 14.2 billion US dollars as of January 2024, according to data on the website of consumer and market data company Statista.

It seems Canada enjoys wagering just as much as two other countries that love a gamble: the US and the UK. Data on the Statista website shows that 49% of US adults took part in gambling activities in 2023. Fifty-six percent said their attitude towards gambling had relaxed, compared to the 50% of 2019.

The UK returned similar stats for the same year. Forty-eight percent of adults reported engaging in gambling activity. Online casinos generated the most gross gambling yield in 2023, but it was the nation’s National Lottery that people played the most.

Alberta: following Ontario’s lead

The regulatory developments in Ontario have triggered movement in Alberta. In May 2024, Bill 16, the Red Tape Reduction Amendment Act, made it through the process and later received Royal Assent to become law. The act removes the monopoly of gaming by a single government entity and will allow private operators, licensed by Alberta’s provincial regulator, to provide online gaming services in Alberta, meaning players will have a choice of more than one Alberta online casino to play at.

The regulation transforms Alberta into one of the more liberal provinces when it comes to online gambling, others being Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia.

Several provinces, such as Novia Scotia and Northwest Territories, have no provincially regulated online gaming sites. Some also restrict betting on horse racing and/or other types of sports betting, obliging citizens to use international betting sites for freedom from caps and betting on as many events as they wish.

What lies ahead for the Canadian, US, and UK gambling industries?

Canada’s appetite for gambling is clear, and the industry’s online sector is beginning to thrive. Ontario has enjoyed vast success by creating its own regulated market, one which, in just its first year, saw Canadians place billions in wagers and the industry itself generate more than a billion in total gaming revenue.

Canada can expect to see other provinces follow Ontario’s lead and allow private operators to provide services in the province under license. The purpose of the regulation is player protection. Any province that develops a regulated market will focus on this, so there will also be regulations around the advertising of gambling services.

The US

Gambling online is the future for the US, too, although states are slow to legalize it. As of September 2024, 38 states had legalized sports betting, following the US Supreme Court’s ruling that states could regulate sports gambling directly.

Despite allowing sports betting, some states only permit in-person betting, and only a few states allow online casino gaming. Operators believe online casino gaming is the future of gambling.

The UK

In the UK, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) will get bigger and bigger. Companies have realized AI can enhance players’ experience and are embracing it more and more. For instance, sports betting websites can use it to crunch data and provide iGamers with stats and other data to make better betting decisions. They’re also understanding they can use AI to prioritize content players are likely to be interested in and to personalize their offerings and services to players’ preferences.

Canada enjoys gambling as much as America and the UK. Although laws around igaming are more of a grey area in Canada, some provinces are clearing the issue up by creating regulated markets and experiencing great success. As time goes by, more are sure to follow.

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Published on March 25, 2025

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Not many people would think of cryptocurrency as the right solution to taking better control of their finances; due to their unique features, crypto wallets are an excellent way to gain more financial independence. Their flexibility and security make them a perfect tool for modern budgeting, which is all about tracking spending and organizing bills.

One of the greatest advantages of crypto wallets is their ability to give detailed insights into your transactions 24/7 – a perk that helps you take control of your habits and avoid overspending. This is particularly important when shopping online or backing your favourite hockey team on betting sites with BTC deposits, for example. They’ve become a popular option for online gamblers, as they don’t require personal information in order to verify a player’s identity. Thus, they allow quick and anonymous access to the most popular sports betting markets. Crypto wallets are among the most secure and affordable payment options for online hobbies, closely followed by prepaid cards and other digital wallets.

Here’s how cryptocurrency and crypto wallets can help you become a budgeting pro:

#1. Potential for appreciation

A cryptocurrency’s volatility is a double-edged sword. It can result in a significant loss of funds – but it can also help your investment soar. Take Bitcoin’s volatility as an example – it has periods of high performance and periods of serious drawdowns. Nevertheless, BTC investors who managed to assess the risk well ended up sitting on a serious goldmine, and the same can be said for most other cryptocurrencies.

It’s known that crypto is perfect for investors with high-risk tolerance; in reality, the risks associated with Bitcoin are in the same realm as those attached to many familiar investments, such as Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla. Allocating a portion of your budget to a well-chosen cryptocurrency can help you gain financial independence more quickly, as long as you prepare a solid entry and exit point strategy.

#2. Significant accessibility

With the ability to sell and buy crypto 24/7, investors can react to any unexpected market changes right away. Even though it’s recommended to create a long-term entry and exit strategy and not make emotional decisions when market changes inevitably happen, the ability to take action at any time will help investors feel safe – unlike some other traditional investments.

This accessibility and liquidity will help both long-term and short-term investors feel more secure in their decisions, ultimately leading to new streams of income, such as staking and yield farming. Ethereum and Solana are among the biggest cryptocurrencies in the world based on total staked value—with a staked value of $133.16 and $89.09 billion respectively—so investing in them could open up new opportunities for passive income.

#3. Portfolio diversification

Ever heard of the saying ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket’? Well, it fits perfectly here, as you should never invest all of your money in just one asset. Instead, when creating a budget for your upcoming investments, it’s better to mitigate risks by spreading investments across different classes. It’s perfectly fine to invest 20% of your money into cryptocurrency, as long as you put the rest toward stocks, bonds, and other investments.

On the off chance that your crypto investment doesn’t pan out, you’ll have something else to fall back on, lessening the financial blow of a bad decision. With their unique market behavior, you can never be sure which way the pendulum is going to swing with cryptocurrency.