Just got back from the gym and continued my reading of Market Wizards, the third book I’ve tackled in 2025—quite a record, honestly. I have to say, though, The Psychology of Money, which I finished last week, was way easier to read and digest. This one’s a bit tougher.
Part of it is because it’s in English, which isn’t my native language, and part of it is that the traders interviewed in the book are veterans—guys who started their careers long before I was born. They’re talking about trading strategies and procedures I’m not familiar with at all.
Inflation, on the other hand, is a topic I know firsthand. Romania in the early 2000s, when we transitioned to a new currency (cutting four zeros from all banknotes in circulation), essentially went bankrupt. Many Romanians don’t realize it, but we’re no longer the true owners of our own country. And we’re not the only nation in this situation. Back in the early '90s, inflation hit us hard, and our currency has been massively devalued over the past 35 years.
As the quote from a section of the interview I snapped a photo of earlier in Market Wizards points out, every currency on Earth is vulnerable to debasement.
The same logic, I think, applies to empires. If you look at history—or even just skim how power and influence have shifted over time—you’ll see humanity has always witnessed power transitioning from one empire to another, with values and systems constantly being replaced.
I think very few people realize how close we are to a total fiat currency debasement. If the U.S. announces this year that it’s working on creating a Bitcoin reserve, that’ll be the clearest signal yet that fiat currency, as we know it, is on its deathbed.
But our limited minds always seem to cling to continuity. We resist change, even when we don’t fully understand the change that’s coming. That said, I doubt we’ll ever have “free money.”
The fact that new money might replace old money doesn’t mean the new money is good money.
Some people still believe we’ll somehow get back to pre-COVID inflation levels and prices. That’s not going to happen. It’s designed this way. And some of us have known this for a long time… it’s just that not everyone is ready to accept it yet.
Just my two cents.
Thanks for your attention,
Adrian