The Bitcoin Value Index (BVI) is a modular, asset-agnostic cost-of-living valuation engine designed to challenge fiat-centric thinking and reveal the true value of money across different asset regimes.
Built on Bitcoin and expanded to include units like Gold and equities, the BVI reframes the cost-of-living by asking: What happens when we stop measuring value with a currency that has lost 98% of its purchasing power since 1913?
The BVI began as a Bitcoin-native initiative — to track costs in terms of a decentralized, scarcity-governed asset outside the fiat system — but evolved into a robust framework for understanding cost, value, and inflation when using any unit of account.
By shifting the measurement lens, the BVI prompts users to ask:
Are prices rising, or is the currency falling?
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was the inspiration for the BVI — specifically, its flaws and limitations.
The CPI is an economic barometer meant to reflect how the cost of living changes, but the core construction relies on assumptions and statistical tricks — like substitution bias, quality adjustments, and a changing basket of goods — that make it nearly impossible to interpret or trust.
Meanwhile, the money supply continues to grow, prices rise, and purchasing power quietly erodes—yet the CPI says everything is under control. A 2–3% inflation “target” is sold as healthy policy, when in reality, it is a slow and steady siphoning of wealth.
The CPI does not accurately reflect economic reality; it has evolved into a dense, political metric that is increasingly detached from the financial pressures of everyday life.
There had to be a better way.
What if the “cost of living” was not measured in dollars?
Conventional tools like the CPI are priced in U.S. dollars — a government-issued, trust-based fiat currency engineered to decline in value due to unconstrained supply — making it difficult to distinguish between rising prices and weakening money.
The BVI rethinks this model. It does not just measure inflation; it challenges the measuring stick.
By pricing essential goods and services in alternative units like Bitcoin, Gold, and investment securities, it tracks cost changes across asset regimes beyond fiat.
Originally created as a way for the Bitcoin community to reframe the purchasing power discussion, the BVI evolved into a flexible valuation engine for comparing the cost of living across any value unit or store of value.
It was designed to:
The BVI is not a tool to track “what 1 BTC can buy.”
It is a system for understanding how real costs change, depending on the unit of account.
In legacy finance, the U.S. dollar is the global reserve currency and default unit of account, but what if the real distortion is the value of the dollar itself?
The BVI introduces Value Units: alternative frames of reference like Bitcoin, Gold, or the S&P 500 index. Each provides a different view of cost and purchasing power, cutting through the noise of fiat-based pricing.
Changing the denominator changes the story, illustrating how costs vary when measured in different units of account.
This is more than a new economic metric; it’s a paradigm shift in tracking affordability and understanding value.
The BVI tracks the cost of 32 everyday-living expenses from 8 core categories — housing, food, transportation, technology, and more — with each component’s weight based on observed U.S. household spending patterns.
The BVI uses:
The result is a transparent, modular index that reveals whether your “money” is preserving value or if its purchasing power is quietly slipping away.
Importantly, the BVI demonstrates how the cost of living evolves — depending on the value unit you choose.
1. Inception-to-Date Index (Log Scale)
What it shows: The Core BVI in BTC terms since June 2010, plotted on a logarithmic scale to reflect compounding
changes in purchasing power over time.
Why it matters: Lower index values mean fewer BTC (or sats) are required to purchase the same goods and services. The log scale highlights the non-linear nature of purchasing power changes. Bitcoin halving events are marked to provide reference points for users exploring potential shifts in cost trends.
2. Year-over-Year Component Heatmap: YOY Change (%)
What it shows: One-year percentage change in the cost of each BVI component, grouped by category. Each box is scaled by weight and color-coded to reflect directional change: green indicates a decrease in cost, red indicates an increase. Users can toggle the value unit to explore how these changes appear in BTC, USD, Gold, or equity terms.
Why it matters: This chart helps users assess real, year-over-year cost changes at both the component and category level. Because the BVI reflects cost through the lens of different value units, this heatmap is a quick way to understand how real-world purchasing power shifts depending on the unit of account.
3. Core BVI (BTC): Year-over-Year % Change with Comparison Series
What it shows: This chart displays rolling year-over-year percentage changes in the Core BVI, denominated in Bitcoin terms, over the selected timeframe. Users can toggle a comparison series, including other Core BVI variants (USD, Gold, SPX, SPXTR) or the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The USD price of Bitcoin is included on a secondary y-axis to provide market context.
Why it matters: Positive values indicate rising costs—reducing purchasing power. Negative values indicate falling costs—increasing purchasing power. The chart highlights the magnitude of cost changes over time, revealing trends in the cost of living as well as the volatility of different value units. By toggling between comparison series, users can see how purchasing power shifts depending on the unit of account.
4. Cost of Living Change by Timeframe: Core BVI (BTC) with Comparison Series
What it shows: This chart displays point-in-time percentage changes in the Core BVI (BTC) across five trailing periods: 3 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and 10 years. A comparison series can be toggled to show another Core BVI variant in a different value unit (USD, Gold, SPX, SPXTR) or the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Why it matters: This chart offers users a snapshot view of how costs and purchasing power have shifted over time, revealing short- and long-term trends. Positive values indicate rising costs and reduced purchasing power; negative values indicate falling costs and increased purchasing power.
5. Comparing Cost Across Value Units: Combo Chart + Data Table
What it shows: A side-by-side cost comparison for a selected item across multiple timeframes and value units. Users can explore a growing list of items via a toggle, with the item’s nominal USD price plotted as a secondary line for reference and an interactive table displaying precise values at Bitcoin-level resolution.
Why it matters: This chart is a practical tool for visualizing how inflation, deflation, and purchasing power evolve across asset regimes. By shifting the unit of account, users can assess the impact of fiat decay through a more dynamic lens.