The Debasement Trade Is Here (And No, Gold Won't Save You)

Welcome everyone to the latest edition of ‘The Roundup’!

Venezuela, gold prices, and Google searches for "debasement" - what do they all have in common? Well, they’re all trending at the moment.

This week we're covering the following👇

• Bitcoin enables liberation movements in authoritarian regimes

• Gold rally signals fiat collapse (but Bitcoin is likely the better trade)

• Global fiat debasement awareness reaches all-time highs

Let's begin!

1️⃣ Bitcoin Powers Liberation in Venezuela

While Western institutions debate Bitcoin's use cases, freedom fighters in Venezuela are proving its most important application: resistance to financial tyranny.

Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado is leveraging Bitcoin in her fight against the Maduro regime. As Hector Alvero explains in his recent video:

"Financial control is one of the greatest threats to human freedom"

rhinobtcapp

808 followers

View more on Instagram

The playbook is simple but powerful. Authoritarian governments weaponize currency controls to maintain power. Citizens can't save in dollars, they cannot escape the fiat devaluation, and they can't move their own money freely in their country.

Bitcoin breaks this stranglehold completely.

Venezuela's bolivar has lost over 99.9% of its value since 2013, with inflation hitting 229% in May 2025 alone. An estimated 16.3% of Venezuelan households now use crypto for daily survival, with crypto making up 9% of the country's $5.4 billion in remittances in 2023.

Bitcoin offers the best alternative out there. Permissionless money that no government can confiscate, no central bank can debase, and no (authoritarian) regime can control. This isn't theoretical - it's happening right now in Caracas.

The lesson from this inspiring story? Bitcoin empowers anyone who values privacy, sovereignty and ultimately even justice. Freedom tech works because sound money is the foundation of human liberty.

2️⃣ Gold Isn't Going Up, Fiat Is Going Down

While Venezuelans flee to Bitcoin out of necessity, Western investors are discovering the same truth through gold's parabolic rise: fiat is failing everywhere.

Gold just hit fresh all-time highs this week, but the real story isn't about gold's strength - it's about the dollar's accelerating weakness. When gold rises across all currency pairs simultaneously, you're witnessing a monetary debasement event playing out in real-time.

But are we approaching a top? When internet trolls seeking clickbait engagement like Peter Schiff start posting "Gold to $1,000,000" predictions, sentiment has very likely gotten frothy.

The more interesting question: What if Bitcoin is just massively undervalued right now?

The BTC/Gold Mayer Multiple (Bitcoin's current price divided by Gold’s 200-day moving average) just hit its lowest level ever recorded. We're talking levels not seen since the COVID crash in March 2020 - a moment that preceded one of the most explosive Bitcoin rallies in history.

Historically, the Mayer Multiple itself has been one of Bitcoin's most reliable valuation indicators. Values below 1.0 have consistently marked generational buying opportunities (and no, that’s not a hyperbole!). We're currently sitting near historic lows.

The Bitcoin-to-Gold ratio tells the same story. By historical standards, Bitcoin has rarely been this cheap relative to gold. For investors who rode the gold rally, this presents a compelling rebalancing opportunity. Why not rotate profits from an overbought asset into an oversold one?

Gold has served humanity well for thousands of years. But Bitcoin offers something gold can't. Characteristics we’ve highlighted in this newsletter over the last few months:

• Programmability

• Instant global settlement

• Perfect divisibility, and

• Absolute scarcity.

When fiat collapses (yes, its a matter of “when” and not “if”), both will likely win. But Bitcoin's upside from current levels looks far more compelling.

3️⃣ The World Wakes Up to Debasement

Google searches for "debasement" just spiked to levels we haven't seen in years. The general public is finally connecting the dots between money printing, inflation, and declining purchasing power.

This isn't surprising when you look at the fundamentals. Total U.S. federal debt now stands at $37.6 trillion, with the government adding $2.2 trillion in debt during fiscal year 2025 alone. Interest payments on that debt hit $970 billion in 2025, surpassing defense spending for the first time in modern history.

But here's what makes this moment different: retail investors are no longer accepting the slow erosion of their wealth. They're actively seeking alternatives - gold, Bitcoin, real estate, stocks - anything to escape the guaranteed loss of holding cash.

The debasement trade is now mainstream. JPMorgan openly calls Bitcoin "the debasement hedge." Ray Dalio warns about currency devaluation. Even traditional financial advisors are recommending hard asset allocations they would have scoffed at five years ago.

The incentives are perfectly aligned for more printing. Governments can't afford to stop. Entitlement spending grows automatically. Defense budgets expand. Politicians face zero consequences for kicking the can down the road.

This is the endgame in motion, and we're getting confirmatory evidence every single day.

🎯 The Final Word

Gold's having its moment. But moments pass. Bitcoin's having its decade. The only question: are you positioned for what comes next, or are you still fighting the last war?

This week showed us what the debasement trade looks like in practice. Bitcoin enables freedom in Venezuela while Machado fights tyranny. Gold hits all-time highs because fiat hits all-time lows. And the world finally starts Googling "debasement" as reality sets in.

The signs are everywhere. Venezuela's 16% household adoption proves necessity drives innovation. Mayer Multiple at historic lows screams opportunity. And $2.2 trillion in annual debt accumulation proves the money printer never stops.

In a world of infinite fiat, scarce assets win. The smart money isn't choosing between gold and Bitcoin - it's rebalancing toward the asset with exponentially more upside from current levels.

Chat next week,

The Rhino Bitcoin Team

⚡Lightning Round

US Government Seizes $14B in Bitcoin: Feds confiscate massive Bitcoin haul in criminal case, now one of largest BTC holders globally.

TeraWulf Raises Record $700M: Bitcoin miner closes largest-ever debt raise in mining industry history to fund expansion.

Steak 'n Shake Bitcoin Steakburger: Fast food chain launches Bitcoin-themed menu item after successful BTC payment integration.