Purchasing power: dollar, euro, gold and Bitcoin
Pick a start date and an amount. The chart shows what it would have become by today: as cash, in a savings account, in gold, in an MSCI World ETF or in Bitcoin. In the "purchasing power" view, inflation is already taken out.
Since Jan 1999, the dollar has lost 50.7% of its purchasing power: $1 from back then buys 49.3 cents' worth today (US CPI-U, as of Aug 2026).
Measured in Bitcoin, the dollar has lost 99.995% since the start of 2012: $1 bought 21.8M sats back then, 1,190 today.
Purchasing power explorer
Hover over or tap the chart to see the values on a given day. A click in the chart sets the start there.
Purchasing power: values in prices of Jan 2017 (US consumer prices). Dotted line: your stake.
Savings account: earns the US Federal Funds rate, compounded weekly, negative rates counted as 0%. Actual bank rates differ. MSCI World: iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF (Acc), ISIN IE00B4L5Y983, Xetra. It stands in for a global equity ETF and is not a recommendation. Data: MSCI World from Sep 2009, gold from Sep 2000, Bitcoin from Jul 2010.
The default start is early 2017: it sits neither at a cycle low nor at a high and spans two full cycles including the 2018 and 2022 crashes. Earlier starts make Bitcoin look orders of magnitude better, later starts at a peak worse; the quick picks show both.
All values as a table
What $100 became, starting on the first Friday of the year, value today in purchasing power at the start (US CPI-U, as of Aug 2026), prices of Sep 29, 2026. A dash means there is no data for that asset at the start yet.
| Start | Bitcoin | MSCI World (iShares ETF) | Gold | Savings account | Cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 8, 1999 | - | - | - | $88.50 | $49.29 |
| Jan 7, 2000 | - | - | - | $86.69 | $50.67 |
| Jan 5, 2001 | - | - | $816 | $84.66 | $52.55 |
| Jan 4, 2002 | - | - | $793 | $82.57 | $53.18 |
| Jan 3, 2003 | - | - | $647 | $83.47 | $54.65 |
| Jan 2, 2004 | - | - | $558 | $84.22 | $55.76 |
| Jan 7, 2005 | - | - | $569 | $85.43 | $57.34 |
| Jan 6, 2006 | - | - | $460 | $86.04 | $59.65 |
| Jan 5, 2007 | - | - | $419 | $83.66 | $60.89 |
| Jan 4, 2008 | - | - | $306 | $83.12 | $63.50 |
| Jan 2, 2009 | - | - | $300 | $81.55 | $63.43 |
| Jan 1, 2010 | - | $370 | $247 | $83.56 | $65.09 |
| Jan 7, 2011 | $17.4M | $341 | $201 | $84.82 | $66.20 |
| Jan 6, 2012 | $955,027 | $368 | $176 | $87.29 | $68.19 |
| Jan 4, 2013 | $443,092 | $320 | $175 | $88.64 | $69.34 |
| Jan 3, 2014 | $7,329 | $265 | $237 | $89.92 | $70.42 |
| Jan 2, 2015 | $18,714 | $250 | $246 | $89.64 | $70.26 |
| Jan 1, 2016 | $13,784 | $252 | $279 | $90.63 | $71.13 |
| Jan 6, 2017 | $6,869 | $237 | $259 | $92.53 | $72.91 |
| Jan 5, 2018 | $369 | $197 | $235 | $93.56 | $74.48 |
| Jan 4, 2019 | $1,659 | $222 | $245 | $93.23 | $75.59 |
| Jan 3, 2020 | $891 | $179 | $208 | $93.66 | $77.55 |
| Jan 1, 2021 | $225 | $158 | $173 | $94.61 | $78.62 |
| Jan 7, 2022 | $171 | $141 | $196 | $102 | $84.56 |
| Jan 6, 2023 | $446 | $177 | $200 | $106 | $89.91 |
| Jan 5, 2024 | $176 | $152 | $188 | $104 | $92.69 |
| Jan 3, 2025 | $81.79 | $129 | $150 | $102 | $95.46 |
What your dollar still buys since 1999
The US dollar over the same period, measured with US consumer prices. Drag the slider or tap the curve to pick a year.
Today, $100 from 1999 buys only as much as $49 did back then.
Purchasing power lost: 50.7%. What cost $100 in 1999 cost $203 most recently. Area of the right note = 49.3% of the left one. US CPI, as of Aug 2026.
The dollar, measured in Bitcoin
How much Bitcoin did $1 buy? Counted in satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin: 1 bitcoin = 100 million sats. Each bar is the year-end close. A shorter bar means $1 bought less Bitcoin.
- 2010333.3M
- 201121.2M
- 20127.6M
- 2013136,623
- 2014311,526+128%
- 2015232,078
- 2016103,520
- 20177,215
- 201827,123+276%
- 201913,947
- 20203,444
- 20212,162
- 20226,050+180%
- 20232,368
- 20241,070
- 20251,143+7%
- 2026*1,190+4%
Log-scaled bar length, so values from several hundred million down to about a thousand sats fit into one chart. 2026: as of Sep 29, 2026.
Methodology & data
Frequently asked questions
01How much purchasing power has the dollar lost?
Measured with the US CPI-U, $1 from Jan 1999 buys 49.3 cents' worth today, a loss of 50.7% (as of Aug 2026). The euro lost 44.9% over the same period (euro-area HICP). The chart "What your dollar still buys since 1999" shows the path year by year.
02What does nominal mean, and what does purchasing power (real) mean?
Nominal is the amount in your account. $100 in cash from 2010 is still $100 in nominal terms. Purchasing power (also "real") takes inflation out: what can you buy with it today, measured in prices at the start? Because prices have risen by about 54% since 2010, those $100 buy only as much today as $65 did back then. The purchasing power explorer switches between both views.
03How much has the dollar lost against Bitcoin?
At the start of 2012, $1 bought 21.8M sats, today 1,190, a loss of 99.995%. At the end of 2016 it was 103,520 sats. From a peak the picture changes: since the end of 2024 (1,070 sats), the dollar has gained 11.2% against Bitcoin. The bars "The dollar, measured in Bitcoin" show every year.
04What became of $100 since 2017?
Starting on Jan 6, 2017 and measured in purchasing power of that time, $100 is worth as cash $72.91, in a savings account $92.53, in gold $259, in the MSCI World (iShares ETF) $237, in Bitcoin $6,869 today. In nominal terms the Bitcoin position would be $9,421. Along the way it fell to $92.49 in real terms (Jan 13, 2017).
05Has Bitcoin always beaten inflation?
No. Anyone who put $100 into Bitcoin on Nov 12, 2021, just after the 2021 high, was down to $23.95 in real terms at one point (Nov 25, 2022) and stands at $109 today. Of the start-of-year entries, these are below the amount invested in real terms today: 2025. The data describes the past; it says nothing about the future.