What is money? What is it used for?Why use it? These questions all have one thing in common and that is…money.Over centuries upon centuries human beings have used some form of trade system meaning they would give something of value to someone willing to give something valuable back.Over time humans of all races created a currency system which gave value to money that could be backed up by gold, to buy or obtain certain goods which drives back to its roots of trading.From gold, to paper and what else awaits,exchanging became a huge part in societies evolution.Of course there have been instances where greed came into play because more money means more power but if you have an enormous amount of it, does it still hold a value.

There is an island along the Caroline Island in the Western Pacific Ocean called Yap.The people that live there, usually called “yap” , had a very unique way on how they use currency and what they value as “money”.Jacob  Goldstein,David Kestenbaum,in “The Island of Stone Money” expresses the yap’s way of business.There is no gold or silver on the island of yap.Hundreds of years ago explorers from the island went on a journey and found limestone deposits miles away from their home.They decided to carve the huge stones into discs which could be from a foot to 12 feet in height and width and sailed them back.The bigger the stone,the more value it holds.The giant disc is owned by one person but never moves.Instead the town is notified every time for the disc’s new owner.Surprisingly the stone doesn’t even have to be on the island to count as money.It may be a fine line between their way of currency and ours but its actually not that different.

Cashapp,Zelle,Paypall and other online banking systems all have something in common.That is transferring money from one place to another but not exactly.All the money that is sent in these applications all are stored in the “cloud” but it still holds value.While physical money is not being moved but instead digital currency is being transferred into another account and has a new owner.In a way it is very similar to the yap’s way of business of the giant stone disc staying in one place but a new owner claims it.

“The Invention of Money:The Lie that Saved Brazil” an Npr broadcast discusses an issue in Brazil where the economy was going downhill and money had little to no value.Inflation was incredibly high in Brazil.In 1990 , inflation in Brazil was 80% not a year but a month! Meaning with inflation reaching 80% a month, items that would usually be ten dollars could round up to thousands at the end of the year.For example a person in Brazil was selling sunglasses but not in one single payment but in 6 monthly installments.

Everyday produce in grocery stores changed their prices, so much that someone had a specific job to do it.People used to rush to buy the groceries just before the employee could change the price.One could only imagine the chaos of everyday grocery shopping.This could prove problematic because people that need the produce to take care of their families would have a hard time obtaining groceries due to the inflation.It all started in 1950, the president wanted to build a giant city in the forest called “Brazilia”.He didn’t have enough for it so he printed out the money and single handedly was the cause for generational inflation.

Does making a mark on currency puts its value down? In “The Island of Stone Money” it describes how the German Government brought the Carolina islands from Spain in 1898.The Germans went to the Yap island and demanded that the streets were cleaned.If they were disobedient, In a happy thought, they would send a man to go to every failu and pabai throughout the island to mark the most valuable fei with an black cross.This cross made it known that it was the German Government’s property now.That is downright disrespecting their tradition they had for years.The Yap had improvised, they cleaned up the roads and highways.The Germans saw how good the islanders did and removed the black crosses from the Yap’s fei.

Just as you thought the United States didn’t have financial problems.In 1932-33 the French worried that the United States would not abide by the gold standard of $20.67 an ounce of Gold.The French asked the Federal Bank Reserve of New York to convert dollar assets to gold.They didn’t move the gold overseas but instead it was requested to store the gold on the Bank of France account.A label was put on draws with gold ingots on them to show that they were the property of France.Sound Familiar?

What is Bitcoin?How does it work?In “New to The Crypto World?Here are the terms to know” bitcoin is the name of the payment network of which this form of digital currency is stored and moved.It was introduced in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto,Unlike traditional payment networks, the bitcoin network is not ran by a person or company but by computers around the world to track all the transactions.So even the person that created it doesn’t have ownership over the whole currency.

Find it hard to believe but video games currencies have some meaning behind them.In “10 Video Game Currencies and their Real World Value” a game known as ‘Monster Hunter’ uses the currency Zeni which can be traced back to the 18th century of Japan.One U.S dollar is 105 zeni.Its amazing how video games can incorporated real world currency in a fictional fantasy.

In closing, money plays a very important part in any economy..With the Yap with their stone money to 1990’s Brazil.Money is used as a trading system that uses physical paper or coins to buy things.It doesn’t have the same value to everyone.If money isn’t backed up by a certain metal like gold then it holds no value.With digital cash quickly advancing,physical money would barely have any value anymore.

References:

Friedman, Milton. “The Island of Stone Money.” The Island of Stone Money(1991): 3-7. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.

Chana Joffe -Walt “The Lie That Saved Brazil” Npr 423 Web Jan 7th,2011

Tom Bowen,”10 Video Game Currencies And Their Real World Values” Web.Oct 1 2020

Glass, Ira, Chana Joffe-Walt, Alex Blumberg, and Dave Kestenbaum. “423: The Invention of Money.” This American Life. Prod. Planet Money. 7 Jan. 2011. This American Life. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.

The New York Times”New to the World of Crypto?Here Are the Terms to Know” Web June 8