A rapid and accelerated increase of the prices of most
goods and services within an economy. Usually happens whenever production of money
vastly outpaces the production of goods/services, quickly lowering its value. This phenomenon has been observed in both real and
virtual economies.
Zimbabwe experienced hyperinflation starting in 2004 when the government of Robert
Mugabe began printing more banknotes with increasing face values (the hundred-trillion dollar banknote being the highest-valued) to pay for its expenses. After chopping off
zeroes thrice to keep zeroes from overcrowding the increasingly-worthless bills, the Zimbabwean dollar was abandoned in 2009 and foreign currencies are now used instead.
Also, after
Gary Schofield and Jason Loia took over
Gaia Online in 2013, the site began directly selling Gaia Gold (the site's virtual currency) for real money, immediately triggering hyperinflation in the user-run virtual auction house. The continued sale of gold-generating items devalued Gaia Gold by at least ten thousand times.