I am always intrigued by this question: how much money is there in the world? The answer isn't as simple as it seems because it all depends on how you define "money."

If we only talk about physical money, notes and coins circulating around, we're talking about around $40 trillion. But then you expand a little and include demand deposits, that money you have in your checking account and can withdraw instantly — then it rises to about $80 trillion. The amount of money that actually circulates is much larger than we imagine.

Now, if you start counting savings deposits, bonds, and other liquid financial assets, the total value of money and equivalents increases significantly, reaching somewhere between $100 to $130 trillion. But that's still just the tip of the iceberg.

Things get crazy when you include everything — stocks, bonds, derivatives, complex financial instruments. Then we're talking about $400 to $500 trillion in global financial assets. And if you really want to be impressed, the nominal value of some of these instruments can surpass quadrillions.

Of course, these numbers fluctuate constantly. Central banks print money, markets go up and down, new financial policies emerge. But when you see how much money exists in the world in all these forms, it's clear that any virtual currency is still a very small fraction of the whole. It's like comparing a grain of sand to an entire beach.