Your idle USDC is getting destroyed every single day. Most people think stablecoins are "safe" because the price stays at $1. But there’s a wealth killer that’s hiding in plain sight:
1/ Over the past 50 years, $100 has lost ~85% of its purchasing power. And it’s not because of market volatility. But because of inflation - the silent tax on all cash. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks this via CPI. It measures price changes across 80,000+ items monthly.
2/ Here's what happened in June 2025: CPI rose 0.30% in one month. Idle USDC earned 0.00%. Real return: -0.30%. Your "stable" coin just became 0.3% less valuable in 30 days. Multiply that by 12 months and you're looking at a serious loss.
3/ And it gets even worse when you understand how CPI is built. Housing makes up 1/3 of the weight. Food, energy, medical care, transport - are all tracked monthly. And, they update weights annually now. Categories that spike in price get their weight reduced next year.
4/ Yield-bearing stablecoins have been fighting back: sUSDe: +0.05% real return sUSDS: +0.08% real return 3-month Treasury: +0.06% real return Small numbers, but they're positive. Idle cash is guaranteed negative every single month CPI prints positive.
5/ "But what about deflation? Falling prices sound good" Japan tried that experiment: 1995-2012. Consumers stopped spending (why buy today if it's cheaper tomorrow?) Economy stagnated for 20 years. So now, central banks target 2% inflation to encourage spending.
6/ Three forces drive inflation: Demand-pull: too much money chasing too few goods Cost-push: supply shocks (oil embargos, shipping bottlenecks) Monetary expansion: central banks printing money faster than economic growth.
7/ The Bretton Woods system (1944-1971) pegged dollars to gold at $35/ounce. That constraint limited money printing and kept prices stable. Nixon ended convertibility in 1971. Since then, no anchor. No limit on money supply growth. Inflation became structural.
8/ So, with yield-bearing stables: Real yield = nominal yield - inflation rate. If Treasury bills pay 5% and CPI is 3%, real yield is 2%. Negative real yield means your money is shrinking in purchasing power terms.
9/ To me, the choice is simple: Money sitting at 0% = guaranteed real loss every month Money earning yield = fighting chance to beat inflation Even modest yields stayed ahead of CPI in our 30-day test. Your idle USDC isn't "safe money". It's slowly melting money...
10/ Anyways, full breakdown and more details at Will be sharing more on stables, so follow along if this is useful.
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