BIS Study Finds Median Currency Lasts 33 Years
A Bank for International Settlements working paper tracks 568 currencies from 1850 to 2026 and finds most have been discontinued.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Financial Services
Live Poll
Do you trust government-issued money to hold its value over the long term?
The Bank for International Settlements released Working Paper 1392, which tracks the lifespans of 568 currencies from 1850 to 2026. The paper states the median currency lifespan is 33 years, and approximately 70% of currencies in the database have been discontinued.
Why it matters
The study provides long-run historical context on how durable state-issued money has been, a question that has gained attention amid debate over digital assets. The paper itself does not address Bitcoin or other digital assets.
The BIS dataset covers 568 currencies across 1850 to 2026, with a median state-issued currency lifespan of 33 years. About 70% of currencies in the database have been discontinued, with the usual cause described as economic.
The players
Bank for International Settlements
The Basel-based institution serves as a bank for central banks and publishes research on monetary and financial stability.
Iñaki Aldasoro
Economist at the Bank for International Settlements who authored BIS Paper 175 on money, trust, and Bitcoin.
The details
Working Paper 1392 compiles lifespan data for 568 currencies over more than 175 years. A companion paper, BIS Paper 175 by Iñaki Aldasoro titled "Money and the architecture of trust," examines Bitcoin alongside gold and stablecoins and argues money requires a central-bank anchor and credit elasticity to function at scale.
Timeline
1850: Start of the currency lifespan data period in BIS Working Paper 1392.
October 14, 2026: BIS Paper 175 by Iñaki Aldasoro released.
November 6, 2026: BIS Working Paper 1392 released.
2026: End of the currency lifespan data period in BIS Working Paper 1392.
Market Landscape
The BIS working paper series has long analyzed monetary regimes, and this dataset extends that research to a 176-year record of currency durability. The findings frame the current debate over private digital money against a long history in which most state-issued currencies have not survived.
The study's historical data gives savers and households context on how long national currencies have typically lasted, though it does not indicate near-term changes to any specific currency. Readers holding cash or deposits can see the study as background rather than a signal to change everyday financial behavior.
The takeaway
Most state-issued currencies in the BIS dataset have been discontinued, underscoring that monetary systems are historically less permanent than they often appear. Readers can use this long-run perspective when weighing claims about the durability of any form of money.
Further reading
Explore more on Financial Services for related coverage of monetary institutions and digital money.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Crypto Briefing.
Live Poll
Do you trust government-issued money to hold its value over the long term?
