But the most basic is supply.demand. In 2008, for example, central banks willed into existence about $20 TRILLION, most of which is still sloshing around. That is what drove up stock marks to record after record.
These inflated stock, especially the Mag-7, themselves become currency. Stocks have always been used as a form of money as high rollers acquire companies through acquisitions that use conjured shares instead of government-backed currency (which is also conjured.) But post-2008, this stock-as-currency has gone off the charts.
And then comes crypto, another conjured currency, not sanctioned or recognized by governments. There is now more crypto currency (valued in dollar equivalents) in circulation than actual dollars. economists don't know how to account for this. the traditional measures of money supply (M1 and M2) to not include crypto. You can't buy groceries at Wal*Mart with crypto and you probably can't find a car dealer who will take Bitcoin as payment for a car. But the Tech Bros have been able to create lots of economic power for themselves by manipulating crypto and derivatives. In some respects, crypto currencies (which are rife with fraud and crime) are more important than any government currency in the world of high finance.
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