Google searches for “debasement” and especially “dollar debasement” have exploded to unprecedented levels in late 2025, signaling widespread public anxiety over currency erosion amid aggressive monetary policies.
This isn’t just a blip; it’s tied to the “debasement trade,” where investors flock to hard assets like Bitcoin and gold as hedges against fiat weakness. According to Google Trends, interest in “debasement” has hit its all-time high this quarter, surpassing previous peaks from 2012 during the Eurozone debt crisis.
Dollar debasement searches in the US reached record highs in recent weeks, peaking around early December 2025. The term’s visibility in global searches jumped dramatically starting October 9, 2025, coinciding with gold breaking $4,000/oz and Bitcoin nearing $120,000.
For context, the interest score Google’s normalized metric, where 100 is the peak popularity for “debasement” is now at 100 for the past 90 days, up from negligible levels pre-October.
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This aligns with broader liquidity trends: US M2 money supply just hit an ATH of $22.3 trillion, fueled by the Fed’s pivot from quantitative tightening (QT) to easing, China’s stimulus, and ongoing BoJ printing.
Global M2 is even larger at ~$95 trillion. People are finally connecting the dots—this is why crypto exists. Currency debasement—historically, rulers like Henry VIII clipping coins with cheaper metals, or modern equivalents like money printing—erodes purchasing power.
Today, it’s amplified by: Post-COVID debt hangover: US debt at $37 trillion, with Trump’s fiscal policies threatening more issuance. Fed’s dovish turn: Rate cuts and balance-sheet expansion since Jackson Hole have weakened the USD to multi-year lows, boosting inflation fears.
Asset rallies as signals: Gold up 18% since August; Bitcoin searches also hit ATHs on Oct 23-24 amid these concerns. Markets are betting on “fiat debasement” over recession. Wall Street’s calling it the debasement trade: Buy scarce assets sell fiat or bonds.
As Lyn Alden noted in her December newsletter, this isn’t new—it’s the “monetary physics of a fiat system” pushing nominal prices up, even if real growth stalls. Bears shorting based on lagging data are getting squeezed by leading liquidity indicators.
Her latest deep dive, the December 3, 2025, newsletter titled “The So-Called ‘Debasement Trade'”, It unpacks why debasement fears are surging— dollar down 10% in H1 2025—the worst six-month drop in 50 years, gold blasting past $4,000/oz, and Bitcoin flirting with $120,000 in October.
This isn’t a shiny new “trade”— it’s the inexorable “monetary physics” of fiat systems playing out over five decades. Alden frames debasement as the slow erosion of fiat purchasing power through endless money printing, decoupled from gold since the 1970s.
It’s why everyday prices like Campbell’s tomato soup have steadily climbed post-1971 while asset prices balloon. The “trade” itself—short fiat/bonds, long hard assets like gold, Bitcoin, stocks, or real estate—has been winning since 2020, with bonds suffering their worst five-year run ever down nominally and way more after inflation.
The real bite comes when money supply growth outpaces bond yields. US broad money has grown 7% annually lately, but with 10-year yields at ~4-5%, net debasement is ~2-3%—mild compared to gold’s mining costs (1-2%).
Unlike the 2010s’ -5% debasement tailwind, expect “moderately negative” gaps ahead—money growing faster than yields, but without zero-rate magic. “The 40-year cycle of ever-lower interest rates is over… asset prices no longer have that tailwind of ever-lower rates behind them.”
Debasement isn’t a trade—it’s the default in fiat land, pushing nominal highs even as real growth sputters. With M2 at ATHs and Fed easing, expect more asset squeezes, but tempered by peak valuations.
For hedges, Bitcoin/gold remain her conviction bets she’s held BTC since $6,900 in 2020. The ‘monetary physics of a fiat system’ pushing nominal prices up. Debasement concerns are at an all-time high with a Trends screenshot showing the spike.
Bitcoin is the purest short-squeeze on fiat debasement. December = peak liquidity month historically. Even bearish voices are noting the shift: The ‘Recession’ trade is dead. The ‘Debasement’ trade is the only game in town.
This search frenzy reflects a tipping point—public awareness of endless money printing “No one is ever going to stop printing money,” as one post quips is driving adoption of alternatives.
Bitcoin fixes this by capping supply at 21 million, immune to debasement. If liquidity keeps flowing— ETFs front-running January inflows, per analysts, expect more ATHs in hard assets. If you’re stacking sats or eyeing gold, this is the vibe.