The dollar lost 10% in value last year (and nobody’s talking about it)

I want you to hear a different word in your head the next time someone says “inflation.”

Stop thinking inflation. Start thinking debasement.

They’re not the same thing. And understanding the difference is the only way to make the right financial decisions in the next decade.

The Setup

The government releases inflation numbers, and everyone talks about them like they’re Gospel truth. Two percent inflation. Three percent inflation. Whatever the number is.

But here’s what’s actually happening that doesn’t get reported: the dollar is being debased.

In 2025, the dollar lost approximately 10% of its value relative to other assets. Gold near $4,900. Bitcoin at $72,000. Silver at $77.

That’s not inflation. That’s debasement. That’s the currency itself becoming worth less.

Why This Matters

When someone tells you “inflation is 2.8%,” what they’re actually saying is: “We’ve carefully selected a basket of goods and services that happens to show a 2.8% increase in price.”

But that basket doesn’t include food. It doesn’t include energy. It includes the things that are convenient to measure and don’t scare the average person.

Meanwhile, if you actually look at the monetary supply — how much money the Fed is printing — you see a very different picture.

From a percentage standpoint, the money supply is growing far faster than reported inflation. Which means there’s a real gap between what’s being printed and what’s being measured.

That gap is debasement.

What Debasement Means for You

Here’s the brutal truth: if your wealth is sitting in cash, you’re losing 10% a year.

Not 2.8%. Not 3%. Ten.

The dollar is being devalued intentionally because the U.S. government needs to service debt and support spending. That’s not a controversial opinion. It’s basic math.

So the moment you park money in a bank account earning 0.1% annual interest, you’re underwater before you even start.

The only way to protect yourself is to own assets that inflate at or above the rate of monetary debasement.

The Three Categories

I think about it this way:

Category 1: Cash and bonds. These are losing to debasement right now.

Category 2: Stocks, real estate, and crypto. These can keep pace with debasement if they’re healthy businesses or productive assets.

Category 3: Leveraged bets on specific trends (tech, commodities, etc.). These can outpace debasement, but with higher risk.

Most people are too concentrated in Category 1. They’re being slowly devalued and calling it “savings.”

The people who are winning are the ones who have their assets in Categories 2 and 3, spread across multiple vehicles, so they can actually grow wealth instead of just preserve it.

What I’m Watching

The data I look at every quarter is monetary supply, not inflation numbers.

When I see that M2 (money supply) is growing at rates that would suggest 8-10% “true” inflation, and the government is reporting 2.8%, I know there’s going to be pressure on the dollar.

That pressure has to go somewhere. It goes into asset prices. Gold. Bitcoin. Real estate. Stocks. It flows toward anything that’s an actual store of value.

Here’s what’s happening now: we’re likely going to see more money printing in the next few years, not less. Regardless of who’s in office or what the political environment is.

It will happen because the math requires it. The debt has to be serviced. And the easiest way to service debt when it’s growing faster than GDP is to print money.

Your Decision

So the question for you is simple: what are you going to do with the knowledge that the dollar is being debased at roughly 10% per year?

Are you going to keep sitting in cash?

Are you going to diversify into assets?

Are you going to own real estate, private investments, crypto, commodities — things that maintain value or grow regardless of what the dollar does?

The math is pretty straightforward. If you’re not in assets that can keep pace with debasement, you’re losing money.

Not slowly. Actually.

Until next week,

Justin