Why $100 Bills Dominate Global Cash Circulation
Oliver Bullough reveals the banknote paradox: cash transactions are dying, yet $100 bills make up 85% of all circulating U.S. currency.
Why Money Launderers Love $100 Bills
Journalist and author Oliver Bullough joins Odd Lots to explore why physical currency in circulation—particularly the $100 bill—continues to hit record highs despite the shift toward digital payments. Bullough breaks down the global money laundering ecosystem, detailing trade-based money laundering, Chinese capital flight networks, European VAT carousel fraud, and how modern syndicates combine physical cash with stablecoins to bypass compliance systems.
Key takeaways
- The United States has $2.4 trillion of physical currency in circulation, and $100 bills make up roughly 85% of that entire supply. Read more →
- Financial institutions spend an estimated $200 billion annually on anti-money laundering (AML) compliance, yet criminal transactions have held steady at 2% to 5% of global GDP since the 1990s. Read more →
- The US government spends about 9 cents to manufacture a single $100 bill, pocketing a 99.91% profit margin on physical currency creation. Read more →
- Illicit financial networks from Russia, China, and Iran stack physical paper currency and stablecoins rather than relying on a single payment rail. Read more →
- Trade-based money laundering bypasses banking rails entirely by transferring purchasing power through physical goods, commodities, and misinvoiced shipments. Read more →
- European value-added tax (VAT) carousel fraud siphons an estimated €50 billion out of public treasuries every single year. Read more →
6 articles from this episode
The $200 Billion AML Failure and the Case for Real Enforcement
Oliver Bullough explains why $200B in annual AML compliance fails to catch financial criminals while debanking innocent people.
Why the US Won't Kill the $100 Bill
Printing a $100 bill costs 9 cents. Oliver Bullough explains why the US Treasury earns billions on physical cash despite global crime.
Why Modern Money Launderers Stack Cash and Stablecoins
Oliver Bullough explains how illicit syndicates pair physical cash with stablecoins to bypass traditional banking controls and move money globally.
The Vancouver Model: How Cartels Move Billions Without Banks
Oliver Bullough explains how Chinese money networks and drug cartels move billions across borders without touching international wire transfers.
Inside the €50B VAT Carousel Fraud Exploding Across Europe
Oliver Bullough reveals how criminal networks exploit EU tax rules to pull €50 billion a year from treasuries using carousel fraud.
More Odd Lots episodes
- Robert Friedland on the World's Monumental Shortage of CopperSep 13 · 5 articles
- The Rise of Organized Retail Crime at Big Box StoresSep 13 · 5 articles
- Why Bridgewater's CIO Says AI's Human Extinction Risk Is RealSep 13 · 4 articles