Mark MossChief Bitcoin Strategist Satsuma | Partner BTCOppFund | ArchLending | BlockwareTeam | 100M+ YouTube

The Paradox of Dollar Dominance

13 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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In this monologue, Mark Moss challenges the common binary view that the U.S. dollar must either stay strong and dominant or collapse entirely. He argues that the dollar can simultaneously increase its global dominance as a settlement and reserve currency while its purchasing power erodes through accelerated debasement. Moss explains that the world’s demand for dollars—driven by needs for trade, savings, collateral, debt payments, and international settlement—creates America’s “exorbitant privilege,” allowing the United States to borrow at lower rates than any other nation. The more dominant the dollar becomes, the greater the room Washington has to devalue it, creating a paradox where dominance and depreciation coexist.

Chapters

This is where most people get the dollar story completely backwards, right? They think the dollar, it either has to remain dominant and strong or it collapses and dies. Like, it's either or. But what does collapse even mean, right? Because the dollar can become more dominant, it can continue to be a more dominant global network, but can also collapse in purchasing power at the same time. Actually, in fact, the greater its dominance, the more room Washington has to accelerate the debasement. Let me show you how. Economists sometimes call the dollar's reserve currency status America's exorbitant privilege. So the world needs dollars for trade, right? They need it for savings, collateral, debt payments, things like that. They need it for— they need it for international settlement. That demand allows the United States to borrow more at lower rates than it could get from anybody else.