- The New Drivers: Why the Cycle is Expanding
According to Hayes, the global economic environment has fundamentally changed, and this change is rewriting Bitcoin's script.
a) Unprecedented Money Printing and Credit Expansion
As an economist, this is the most critical factor. Since the 2008 financial crisis, and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, central banks like the U.S. Federal Reserve have injected trillions of dollars into the financial system.
The Problem: This massive increase in the supply of fiat currency (USD, EUR, JPY, etc.) debases it. Each dollar is worth less, and its purchasing power declines. This is inflation.