i like to periodically remember that "by 2017, the $100 note eclipsed the $1 to become the most widely distributed U.S. currency" and "as much as 80 percent of the 12 billion $100 bills in circulation live outside the country" https://t.co/zkQnLP0MCV
— 'Weird Alex' Pareene (@pareene) September 20, 2020
It is fun to think about. I am not smart but thinking back to old freshman economics about the functions of money the two big ones are "store of value" and "medium of exchange" and for normal people operating in the United States of America, the hundred dollar bill is not very useful as a medium of exchange. No, sir, not at all. Get the stink eye for using a $50 most places, even if they'll accept it. The kinds of normal retail establishments that will accept one hundreds are also the kinds of places one would expect people to use cards, generally. Most places that are happy to take a hundred are selling things that require many hundreds, such that even carrying hundreds is a bit inconvenient!
Sure there are some even surprising places where cash transactions (including dollars) are standard. And, yes, the kinds of black market (drugs) transactions that we are trained to understand as "black market transactions" but really this is a) massive hoarding of illicit cash b) massive hoarding of non-illicit cash c) massive use of cash for things we don't normally think of as "black market transactions." Those "all cash" real estate transactions are, in fact, all literal cash. It isn't isn't just a euphemism for no mortgage involved.