MW This bitcoin evangelist says inflation is far exceeding official statistics - by tracking ribeye prices
By Steve Goldstein
What ribeye steak says about the global financial system.
Forget the consumer price index - this bitcoin evangelist is tracking ribeye steak prices for what he thinks is a better measure of inflation.
Parker Lewis, the author of "Gradually, Then Suddenly," talked about his habit on the "We Study Billionaires" podcast, in which he's been tracking the price of the same ribeye at the same store since 2020 over the last five years. Lewis said inflation using his ribeye method shows 72.5% cumulative inflation, or 19% annualized.
"One, it's a great way to distill everything that's happening in the world, because the ribeye doesn't lie," said Lewis. "It's still desirable, right? It's scarce and desirable. So it requires work to produce, and like there's food, energy, money, as kind of three key working systems that are very foundational to our economic system."
"You need to look at the things in your life that you consume, and measure inflation based on those things, because if the [Labor Department] is saying that CPI is 2 7%, but you're going to CVS and Walgreens, and things are rising at far higher rates, or if you're getting on planes to go visit family, or a flight use to cost $300 and now cost $600, that inflation is really the goods and services that you consume, and if your rate of inflation is not keeping pace with your wages, the net consequence to that is your standard of living has declined" said Lewis.
It should be noted the Bureau of Labor Statistics does actually keep track of steak prices. The numbers aren't wildly off from Lewis's one-store measure - before the pandemic, at the outset of 2020, a pound of steak was $7.64, and now it's $12.51, on the BLS numbers.
In bitcoin terms, however, ribeye steaks are actually getting cheaper.
Lewis, who advocated for Texas's move to create a fledgling bitcoin reserve, says the larger the cryptocurrency becomes, the harder it becomes to undermine.
"There's great downside if you were to be wrong, that even if you're discounting it and saying there's a 1 % probability [of bitcoin becoming the main economic system], you still have to be exposed to it," he said.
It should be noted that while bitcoin's price has skyrocketed, it doesn't tend to trade as a inflation hedge but rather moves with other risky assets like stocks.
Bitcoin (BTCUSD) on Wednesday was trading at just over $89,000, down 29% from its late October peak.
-Steve Goldstein
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 21, 2026 05:11 ET (10:11 GMT)
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