Scenarios where Goldback® use and ownership make the most sense.
#1. Regular Inflation
The Federal Reserve, a private bank, prints most of the currency in the United States. It is has been the stated goal of the Federal Reserve to achieve an annual 2% inflation rate. During several periods in U.S history this rate was actually well over 10% for years at a time. It is very difficult for the Federal Reserve to manage inflation on a year to year basis but if everything is going according to the stated plan then your money will constantly lose value.
The effect of inflation is substantial. Americans are taught to save for retirement and that if funds are set aside then they can grow with interest so that the retiree can enjoy their golden years out of the workforce AND leave behind a nest-egg for either their children or a cause. Currently most banks pay less than 1% interest on savings so once the planned 2% inflation rate is factored in then an investor can expect to lose value year to year.
The Goldback is a currency that is designed to maintain value over time because it is actually made from gold. From 1971 to 2019 gold increased in price by about 8% on average.
#2. Future Online Hacking / Identity Theft.
As artificial intelligence and quantum computers become more advanced the current encryption used to protect the global financial system could (and likely will) be cracked. The same is true of all of the existing crypto-currencies. The processing power of computers is doubling every year. At the current rate of growth there are about three years left before computers are capable of breaking all of the encryption that we count on to protect digital assets such as online checking accounts or even crypto-ledgers. This isn’t to say that this is guaranteed to happen but it is a risk.
While it is possible that no one will use these new tools for nefarious purposes, history indicates otherwise. It was only a couple of years ago that hackers took down Equifax and stole most of the credit data available for American citizens. Social Security numbers are on sale on the darkweb for about $10 each. The same is true of millions of credit cards. As better tools become available to hackers or hostile state governments the safety of digital assets become in greater jeopardy.
It remains to be seen how governments and banking institutions will respond to threats posed by advanced supercomputers. Individuals with significant non-digital holdings will be safe from this threat though. The Goldback is an excellent tool for avoiding digital risk since it is a physical product. Unlike cash, the Goldback has never been counterfeited and carries intrinsic value within.
#3. EMPs, Solar Flares, and other Natural Disasters.
Hacking isn’t the only risk to digital assets. When the power goes out for a long time the value of a credit card goes down quite a bit. EMPs and Solar Flares have the power to take down the U.S electrical grid. While the system is rebuilt the Goldback would be an extremely useful currency, again due to its physical and valuable nature.
#4. War.
Empires come and go, and when they go the currency (whenever it isn’t gold and silver) goes with it. Even if the United States wins, any major confrontation with other nuclear powers such as China and Russia (or North Korea) could be devastating for American citizens, resulting in extreme loss of life, liberty, and property.
During the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War II, and Vietnam, the economic strain of paying for the wars was so great that the currency became worth significantly less. A major conflict could produce these kinds of results again. This is true for people that live outside of the United States as well. Germans fleeing Nazi Germany brought gold with them and in doing so avoided becoming poor refugees.
If you run part of your finances with Goldbacks then you would be that much more free from the effects of collapsing fiat currency values as a result of a major conflict.