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.

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.

BHP Group said on Tuesday that BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners will invest $2 billion into Western Australia Iron Ore’s inland power network, marking one of the most significant recent moves by a major miner to recycle capital out of low-risk infrastructure and push it back into growth.

The agreement carves out WAIO’s inland power assets into a new entity in which BHP will hold a 51 percent stake and GIP the remaining 49 percent. Under the structure, BHP will pay the new entity a tariff tied to its share of WAIO’s inland power use over a 25-year period. The Australian miner added that operational control will remain fully with BHP, ensuring continuity in how the network supports its massive Pilbara iron ore operations.

The deal landed well with analysts. “It’s a great deal that will help BHP with its capital recycling,” said CLSA’s Baden Moore in Sydney, adding that he hopes to see “more of this from BHP as they pursue growth.”

The company’s shares pared early losses after the announcement and were recently trading flat.

Chief Financial Officer Vandita Pant said the structure reflects “BHP’s disciplined approach to capital portfolio management,” adding that it strengthens balance-sheet flexibility, supports long-term value creation, and enhances shareholder value. The push comes as the mining sector grapples with higher decarbonization costs, the need for new supply in iron ore and critical minerals, and a tougher funding environment for large greenfield mining projects.

The investment arrives at a moment when the world’s biggest miners are reassessing how much capital they want tied up in long-duration infrastructure such as power networks, rail, port capacity, and transmission lines. These assets are essential to operations but can tie up billions that could otherwise be deployed into exploration, expansions, or acquisitions. Investors on the other side are hungry for precisely these kinds of low-risk assets that offer stable, contracted returns.

That shift in thinking has been evident across the sector. Rio Tinto CEO Simon Trott said last week that the company had identified multiple infrastructure assets it does not need to own outright and would explore partnerships and divestments. The world’s largest iron ore producer, like BHP, is preparing for a more capital-intensive decade as ore grades decline, energy requirements climb, and governments push miners harder on emissions.

The GIP investment provides immediate liquidity for BHP, especially at a time when iron ore remains profitable but volatile, and when long-term decarburization plans require billions in spending. WAIO is among the world’s largest integrated mining operations, and its inland power network is critical to both energy reliability and the transition toward cleaner electricity sources. Structuring the asset as a tariff-based infrastructure play allows BHP to keep control while freeing capital to support expansions or cushion balance-sheet pressures from price swings in commodities.

This approach is believed to also give large miners a clearer path to partner with infrastructure specialists who can manage and optimize long-term capital needs while miners focus on operating performance and growth. For global funds like GIP it offers a foothold in Australia’s iron ore backbone at a time when long-dated infrastructure assets with predictable cash flows are in high demand.

BHP said the deal will not affect any existing joint-venture agreements within its Australian operations. But the move underlines a broader rethinking underway in the mining world about what needs to sit on miners’ balance sheets — and what can be monetized without undermining operational control.

With competitors already mapping out divestments and partnership opportunities, BHP’s agreement with GIP signals that the next phase of capital strategy in the mining sector may be less about outright ownership and more about finding ways to unearth value from the infrastructure that keeps the world’s biggest mines moving.