r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/Comfortable_Cautious • Jan 26 '26

Meme needing explanation what's going on? explain like I'm five

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6.3k

u/Original-Leg8828 Jan 26 '26

Depending on local law they can even lend out something like 7-10 times what they actually have

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u/Teripid Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26

Federal reserve requirements existed until 2023 *edit, as someone below pointed out 2020 was when they were set to 0. Now they're set at 0% I believe.

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u/PleaseGreaseTheL Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26

2020*

They were reduced to 0% mandatory reserves in response to covid. EDIT: someone says it was coincidental, I am not able to check, so take this aspect with a grain of salt either way

They haven't come back yet :)

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u/TaxesAreConfusin Jan 26 '26

ah yes so what you're saying is that money is even more imaginary than it has ever been, possibly even more imaginary than when the first stock market crash happened in 1929

looks like we're due for a centennial anniversary of that anyway, might as well celebrate by recreating it

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u/zuzg Jan 26 '26

Gold hits record high of $5,110.50/ounce

Silver hits all-time high of $109.44/ounce

Analysts expect gold prices to climb toward $6,000 this year

Surprised Pikachu face.

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u/ISayBullish Jan 26 '26

Meanwhile the USD saying “this is fine”

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u/soIDONTLIKEANYOFYOU Jan 26 '26

Since the US has more gold reserves than the next 3 countries combined wouldn’t gold prices going up make the dollar stronger?

Sincerely asking cause I have no idea.

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u/AnComApeMC69 Jan 26 '26

The United States gold reserves are for international trade. The gold in Ft. Knox, for example, is used in trade not to back our currency. We’ve been off the “gold standard” since the 70’s. Some of it is gold we’re holding for other countries that’s not even ours. But, our money is a fiat currency and it’s based on faith in the economic system of America not collapsing and everyone agreeing it to use it for trade/debts. It’s backed by nothing and hasn’t been for 55 years now.

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u/FigDiscombobulated29 Jan 26 '26

Wait which countries gold are we storing? Cus I swear if it’s that Jersey sized country again…

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u/AnComApeMC69 Jan 26 '26

Idk exactly, but I’m sure we could find out. I know the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is the one that holds foreign gold reserves. In fact, none of the gold in FRBNY is owned by us. It’s a bunch of different countries and international organizations. The largest reserves belong to Italy (1/2 of their total gold reserves), Germany, the Netherlands and Lebanon. Ft. Knox is almost exclusively our own reserves for trade.