Saving With Bitcoin Was Never So Cool As In 2020

2020 was unforgettable, especially for Bitcoin. To help memorialize this year for our readers, we asked our network of contributors to reflect on Bitcoin’s price action, technological development, community growth and more in 2020, and to reflect on what all of this might mean for 2021. These writers responded with a collection of thoughtful and thought-provoking articles. Click here to read all of the stories from our End Of Year 2020 Series.

In 2020, Bitcoin benefited strongly from the incredible media-driven fear and government overreaction around COVID-19. Over decades, fiat money and debt culture has degenerated our ability to think and plan long term. But while society’s fiat savings were being inflated away, many were able to insulate themselves from the impact. 

So what changed this year? It was a tipping point of understanding. The macroeconomic winds had finally changed enough that people were realizing that something was wrong. 

There used to be some semblance of an interest rate and return for savers. But as those have been driven to almost zero in nominal terms, and negative in real terms, well-known investors have now openly acknowledged the value of bitcoin as a store of value. We saw billionaire investors, money managers and public company CEOs speak out with bullish points of view on Bitcoin: Paul Tudor Jones, Stanley Druckenmiller, Bill Miller, Larry Fink and Rick Rieder of BlackRock, Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy and Jack Dorsey of Square. 

Many in the traditional investing world remain confused. Consider this exchange between Melissa Lee and Saylor. Saylor understands the game here is to earn (whether in fiat or bitcoin), and then store that value in bitcoin, while Lee seems stuck on the idea that this is some “bet” on bitcoin. As though remaining in fiat was not itself a risk given these underlying conditions. 

In other interviews, Saylor has aptly characterized sitting in fiat as sitting on a melting ice cube. It’s hard enough to turn a buck and make an honest living these days. There’s rightly a sense that a person should not also have to be an equity analyst, property mogul or a bond king to hold on to their savings. 

More broadly, we’ve seen a rise in the savings rate. In the U.S., the savings rate has gone from the 5 percent range to the 15 percent range in 2020. Australian household saving has jumped from 5 percent to around 20 percent in 2020. What happens as more people around the world realize that bitcoin is the “fastest horse,” as Jones put it? 

The Impact Of The Bitcoin Halving

As anticipated, bitcoin’s third subsidy halving occurred in May 2020. The four-yearly event that is like New Year’s Eve for bitcoiners went over in a festive way, with many live streams and events taking place. 

Also relevant in terms of Bitcoin memes, the NgU (Number Go Up) technology meme became much more prominent in 2020. While “Number Go Up” was initially intended as an insult to bitcoiners for…