He looked down at the wooden podium, then back at his audience. More polite smiles.
“There are representatives here tonight from many countries. Each of our countries claims its own national currency. We trade our goods, services, our stocks and our bonds in each of these national currencies. And then we trade the actual currencies themselves. We trade our yen for dollars and our euros for rubles. Back and forth and forth and back again.”
He raised his voice. “A shell game. And a fickle one at that, with few real advantages. But there is one big one. If you control the king of all currencies, the world is yours to rule. This major advantage is claimed by a nation that is not represented here tonight in this dining hall. The United States dollar is king.”
He paused for effect.
“We can complain all we want, but we know it in our hearts to be true. As long as the rest of the world rushes back to the dollar as the global reserve currency, we are slaves to America.”
He took another sip of water. He could see that some of them were on guard. Everything had been cordial and superficial in the speeches that came before Jinshan took the stage. Now he was upping the ante. Ears perked up. The nations friendly to America probably didn’t want to be associated with someone who wasn’t. Well, that notion wouldn’t last much longer.
“Gentlemen, I’m an old man. I’m tired of this game. Because unless you can control the dollar, which none of us in this room can, then we’re each at a disadvantage.”
Some nods from the Russians and the Iranians. There was no love lost to America from those groups. The Emiratis looked torn.
“But I’m not here to put any country, even America, at a disadvantage. What I propose to do, with the help of everyone in this room, is to rebalance the field. In the past few months, my country’s currency has decreased in value by quite a bit. Our stock market has suffered devastating losses. Around the world, we are likely on the verge of yet another economic downturn. And in many countries, inflation pummels the value of our money.” He motioned to the Iranian delegation. “A loaf of bread in Tehran was much cheaper a few years ago, was it not?”
One of the Iranians nodded somberly. Another nudged him and he stopped.
“But I say to you, no more! We now have the first volley in the battle for global economic stability. A digital currency reserve. One with no national master, its value rooted in indisputable mathematical fairness, not the whims of the bureaucrats. Iran and the UAE will begin backing their currency with bitcoin reserves. As we all know, the Dubai Financial Exchange, which will also trade raw bitcoins, will open within the next forty-eight hours. This has spurred growth in the value of bitcoin itself, and these two brave nations will prosper.”
He took another drink of water. He clasped the edge of his podium and leaned in as he spoke. “Now I have some news. I am very excited to announce here today that we have begun negotiations in Beijing for our own country to follow suit. I wanted those of you in this room to hear it first. China, too, will begin holding reserves of bitcoin. Over the next year, we will begin a transition from central regulation of the RMB to a bitcoin-backed currency. It is our hope that the rest of the world will follow. No longer will one nation dictate financial terms to the rest of the world. Bitcoin is as fair a currency as gold. It is scarce, it is secure, and most importantly, it is not regulated by any one government. It is our hope that this practice of using bitcoin to back national currencies will evolve into a single, global, decentralized currency. When that happens, an economic rebalancing will follow.”
“Holy shit,” Elliot said. He was on his phone and walked away, into the other room.
Phones began ringing in their room. Everyone began speaking more loudly. Chase could tell something very big had just happened, but he didn’t fully understand it.
Elliot looked at Chase and waved him off. He covered the receiver on his cell phone and said, “I need to take this. Call me or text me when you have something more.”
Chase gave him a thumbs-up.
Lisa stood up next to Chase. “Well, I knew it would be entertaining, but I didn’t realize quite how much so.”
“What are the implications of this?”
She raised her eyebrows. “If what Jinshan just said is real, that would be huge news. China shifting to a bitcoin-backed currency would be a game changer.”
“How so?”
“When this gets made public, which will probably be any minute now, the sheer volume of Forex trading will drive the value of bitcoin through the roof. That will virtually guarantee stability for other countries that want to follow suit.”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean, follow suit?”
She said, “Let me put it this way. This could be the first domino in a chain of events that would ultimately dethrone the American dollar. If everyone starts shifting to a bitcoin-backed currency, and then eventually to a single global currency, that could really hurt the United States economically.”
“I see.” Chase watched the others scramble around the room, speaking on phones and to each other in anxious voices.
Lisa said, “I can take you back now. These guys will be busy getting copies of this speech to everyone who needs it in our government.”
“You’re leaving? Amidst all of this?”
“Yup. My work here is done.”
“And what work was that?”
She smiled. “Who do you think got the video feed in there?”
On the TV, the crowd of dignitaries rose to their feet. They exited the conference room in groups of twos and threes. The screen shifted to a view of a very fancy-looking bar. There were ornate gold-decorated marble pillars, crystal chandeliers, and rows and rows of liquor. So much for the Muslim rules on alcohol.
Chase said, “Where are they?”
“Atlantis — The Palm.”
Chase felt like it was wrong for them to leave now. “Isn’t there something we could be doing?”
Lisa said, “Just let it play out. This part is neither of our jobs. Come on. Let’s get out of here.” She brushed her hand up against his, ever so slightly. “Now, are you ready for that drink?”
Three hours later, Lisa lay naked on top of him. Strands of her long black hair hid one of her eyes. Her smooth skin glistened with sweat. They had caught their breath, their session of lovemaking finished for now.
Blue moonlight illuminated her apartment bedroom. Chase could hear the late-night sounds of the waterfront out the window. The beach tourist district lay several floors below.
Her fingertips traced the muscles from his shoulder to his bicep. A slow, admiring caress. She said, “I don’t mean to ruin the moment, but I need to say something.”
“Yes?”
“I just want to make sure you understand that we can’t tell anyone about this. Especially not Elliot. You know that, right?”
He looked into her eyes. “I haven’t told anyone. And I don’t intend to.”
She didn’t smile, but her eyes did. She said, “I know very little about you.”
“I think you’ve obtained quite a bit of knowledge.”
“I mean personal things. I know very little about you personally.”
“Have you read my file?”
She said, “I always read up on my marks.”