Frames·№2

After the Anchor

What changed after 1971—and what the chart can and cannot establish.

Measured inCPI-adjusted units, both series rebased to Jan 1971. The bitcoin line follows one dollar converted at the Jul 2010 anchor price of $0.08.

USD purchasing power vs. Bitcoin since 1971A logarithmic chart comparing the steady decline of one US dollar's purchasing power since 1971 against the appreciation of bitcoin held since 2010. Measured with CPI-U data through April 2026. Drag the chart or use the month slider to inspect any month.×1×10×100×1k×10k×100k×1000k1971198019902000201020202026USD purchasing powerBitcoin (held since 2010)
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If you held it as cash

From Aug 1971 to April 2026, one dollar held as cash retains 0.13 CPI-adjusted purchasing-power units for every 1.00 unit it began with — 87% lost to CPI-measured inflation.

If you held it as bitcoin

Bitcoin did not exist yet.
The first block was mined on January 3, 2009. Drag forward.

○ BTC $78,100 cached anchor · chart data through April 2026