The case that Washington would win from a Bitcoin-backed dollar rather than a return to gold, framed as good news for Bitcoin holders and bad for the gold-standard camp.

• Most of the world's gold now sits with China and India, so a gold standard would weaken the US against rivals.
• Most Bitcoin is held inside the US, making a Bitcoin-backed dollar the stronger play for American power.
• Long-running theories that the CIA or the US government helped create Bitcoin are unprovable and beside the point.
• If the dollar breaks down, the options come down to a new dollar, gold backing, or Bitcoin backing — and the math favors Bitcoin.

Outlook: Expect more talk of tying the dollar to Bitcoin as confidence in the currency weakens, with gold-standard proposals staying politically dead.