Odd Lots · Monday, September 7, 2026
Oliver Bullough explained seigniorage as the profit governments make from issuing currency, essentially providing an interest-free loan to the state. He argued that this profit motive, along with a lack of international cooperation, hinders efforts to eliminate large denomination bills and curb money laundering, as individual nations are reluctant to give up the financial benefits or risk criminals shifting to other currencies.
“In the modern term, it's the profit that is made from issuing paper money.”
“So there's $ 2. 5 trillion US dollars out there somewhere. That's an interest-free loan to the US government, broadly understood, of $ 2. 5 trillion.”
“So what you need is an international agreement that everyone could get together and say, we're not going to do this.”