Stocks are not coupled to fiat, fiat is just the common medium of exchange for them. Nobody will stop me from trading my GOOG share for a goat, or a baseball card, if I so choose.
Stocks are coupled to the productive output of the firm the stock is issued by, which is coupled to it's real world productivity - which, again, for convenience is measured in a fiat currency.
> Nobody will stop me from trading my GOOG share for a goat, or a baseball card, if I so choose.
Nitpick, but the SEC would object to that. That said, American securities regulation has a unique philosophy, i.e. every securities trade must be registered and follow a narrow book of rules unless specifically exempted.
Your broader point, of financial and real assets being proven hedges against inflation, stands.
The transaction must be denominated in dollars, but must dollars actually change hands? I don't think so. Companies buy other companies with stock issues all the time.
> transaction must be denominated in dollars, but must dollars actually change hands?
I believe it's the other way around. It can be denominated in anything, but trading e.g. the deed to your house for some Apple stock is a no no. (Doesn't have to be U.S. dollars, though.)
Stocks are coupled to the productive output of the firm the stock is issued by, which is coupled to it's real world productivity - which, again, for convenience is measured in a fiat currency.