Bitcoin is equal in price to the most expensive fiat banknote

Tim Draper, a crypto millionaire and venture capitalist, told Forbes that the use of fiat currencies will seem like a ridiculous relic to everyone in five years. However, at the moment, after the fall in the price of Bitcoin, the very first cryptocurrency is worth as much as the largest banknote in circulation.

This note is the Brunei B$10,000 note and is worth $7,482, about the same as Bitcoin at the moment. A banknote featuring Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah was first issued in 2006. The Brunei note has the same face value as the Singapore $10,000 note (although it is no longer issued).

The small nation of Brunei is the antithesis of its decentralized ideals. Bolkiah, one of the richest men in the world, is the second longest-serving living monarch after Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. Thanks to vast oil and gas fields that power virtually the entire economy, the country's per capita GDP is one of the highest in the world. In 2014, the country of less than half a million people adopted strict Islamic rules that harshly criticize cryptocurrencies.

Brunei's B$10,000 note stands out as other countries try to get rid of large notes. The Latvian 500 lats bill was worth approximately $982 when it was removed from circulation. The eurozone has gotten rid of the €500 note, which was worth approximately $584 at current exchange rates. One of the reasons for the removal of this bill was concerns about the financing of terrorism with its help.

Large banknotes are excellent for money laundering, tax evasion and other criminal activity because they are easier to transport. A suitcase with $1,000,000 in $100 bills would be 70% full. According to the International Monetary Fund, the same amount of Brunei B$10,000 notes would take up just 1.5% of a suitcase. This is confirmation that the rise of cryptocurrencies will eventually spell the end of fiat money.

Major currencies have a bad reputation, but Brunei is considered a low money laundering and terrorist financing risk country, according to the US State Department. And despite the risks associated with high-denomination banknotes, Switzerland has refused to stop printing the 1,000-franc note - a piece of paper worth $1,012 - which has become very popular due to the elimination of almost all other large banknotes.. At the moment, 1000 franc notes make up almost 40% of all the country's banknotes in circulation.

According to qz.com