The Iranian currency devalued by 34 times overnight, everyone has seen it, and the money that Iranians saved for a lifetime is turning into a pile of waste paper. This event has once again brought attention to stablecoins, and the recent rise of Bitcoin cannot be said to be unrelated; it has deepened this old consensus that the best way to preserve personal assets is only Bitcoin.
If one day you wake up in the morning and find that the money in your hands has shrunk by more than 90% overnight, what will you do? This is not a hypothesis, but a story happening in Iran. Against the backdrop of long-term sanctions, foreign exchange shortages, and high inflation, the Iranian currency rial has experienced an extreme devaluation phase. The black market exchange rate is seriously decoupled from the official rate, the price system is chaotic, and ordinary people have no idea what the 'real exchange rate' is.
When the local currency continues to weaken and prices soar, the only thing people can do is to exchange the riyal for anything that 'will not continue to depreciate'. The US dollar, gold, real estate, and even durable living supplies have become safe-haven tools. But the problem arises: when the dollar cannot be bought, gold has poor liquidity and is inconvenient to carry, and real estate becomes ruins—what can ordinary people do? The answer begins to point to an increasingly sensitive asset: Bitcoin.
Why Bitcoin? Bitcoin is never just a 'speculative tool'. In developed countries, it may be a risk asset, but in high-inflation countries, it is primarily a survival tool. It is not controlled by the national currency system, does not rely on central banks, is not affected by local bank freezes, and will not suddenly become worthless due to a policy change.
It can be transferred across borders. When the local currency cannot be freely exchanged for foreign currency under capital controls, Bitcoin can flow across borders. A pound of gold is hard to store, but 12 mnemonic words can be carried around, even memorized. As long as you go to any place that supports cryptocurrency, it can be exchanged for the local fiat currency. Only when credit collapses do people realize the value of decentralization. Many people often say: 'Currency will not collapse.'
But history has repeatedly proven—Argentina's peso has devalued significantly multiple times, Venezuela has experienced hyperinflation, and Turkey's lira has continued to depreciate for many years. Therefore, the question has never been 'Will it happen?' but rather 'When will it happen?'. When all your assets are denominated in local currency, you are essentially making a single bet, betting that the fiscal and monetary system of this place will remain stable forever. But in the real world, nothing is forever stable.
Bitcoin is not a tool for getting rich but rather 'insurance'. Many people's understanding of Bitcoin remains at the level of its price fluctuations. When it rises, it is a myth; when it falls, it is a scam. But those who truly understand it know it is more like a form of 'financial insurance'. I hope you never need to use it. But once extreme situations arise, it is the only asset you can take with you. When banks shut down, exchange rates collapse, and capital controls tighten, what else can you take? Gold? It may be checked at customs. US dollars? They may be restricted for exchange. Real estate? Unmovable. Only a string of private keys can fit in your brain. In the logic of asset allocation, 0% allocation is an extreme risk, and 100% allocation is as well. But in an uncertain era, completely ignoring Bitcoin may be the biggest blind spot.