US inflation just hit a four-decade high. And crypto won't save us.

U.S. inflation rose to 7.9% in the year through February, the biggest spike since 1982, as the war in Ukraine continues to put pressure on the oil and commodity markets. If technology still is a deflationary influence, it's getting harder to see.

Meanwhile, wages aren't keeping up, even as the competitive talent market is pushing employers to up worker salaries. Overall wages fell 2.4% on average for all workers last year, and a recent Pew survey found that the majority of workers who quit their jobs in 2021 cited low pay as their top reason for quitting.

Big Tech has been mixed on its response. In December, Google's VP of Compensation Frank Wagner told employees at an all-hands meeting that the company wouldn't be raising pay across the board to match inflation.

"As I mentioned previously in other meetings, when we see price inflation increasing, we also see increases in the cost of labor or market pay rate. Those have been higher than in the recent past and our compensation budgets have reflected that," he said.

For those who are betting on crypto as a hedge against inflation, evergreen reminder that it's still a risk asset.