So that everyone understands the currency, even without being an economist
You use money every day, but... do you really know what it is?
We pay with it, we earn it, we dream of it, sometimes we lack it...
But what is money basically? Just paper? Metal? Numbers on a screen?
And above all... where does it come from? Why do people believe in it? And how did it evolve?
Today, I take you on a simple and captivating journey, to discover the history of money, from ancient times to cryptocurrencies.
BEFORE MONEY, THERE WAS TRUST
At the very beginning, people didn't even exchange.
In small villages or clans, we gave without counting, because we knew that one day, it would come back.
A fisherman shared his fish. Another offered millet.
Why? Because they knew each other. There was trust, mutual aid, solidarity.
Morality: the very first "currency" was the human relationship.
THEN COMES THE EXCHANGE: "I GIVE YOU MY COW, YOU GIVE ME MIL"
Little by little, when the groups grow, we can no longer offer everything for free.
So we start exchanging directly: milk for bread, a goat for a hoe.
But it often blocks:
• What if I want bread but you don't want my milk?
• What if your tool is worth more than my bag of rice?
• What if I can't cut my cow in half?
This is where we begin to dream of a practical tool to exchange with everyone.
THE TIME OF MONEY OBJECTS: CAURIS, SALT, COCOA...
Before banknotes and banks, people use what they have in abundance, but which remains valuable and recognized:
• Shellfish (cauris) in Africa,
• Salt in Europe (that's where the word salary comes from),
• Cocoa beans in America,
• Tea in China.
These objects serve as primitive currency.
Everyone accepts them, so they circulate. It's simple, it's smart.
GOLD AND SILVER: THE FIRST COINS
Around 600 BC, a king in Asia made a stroke of genius: he struck the first gold and silver coins.
They are beautiful, solid, easy to transport... and everyone wants them!
Soon, Rome, Egypt, China, Africa... everyone uses metal money.
Why does it work?
Because people trust the value of metal.
TICKETS BECOME THE NEW NORM
Centuries later, to avoid transporting gold, people create banknotes: papers that say "I promise to pay you".
Then these promises become official currencies.
And even today, your banknote only has value because society believes in it.
This is what we call fiat currency (fiducia = trust in Latin).
MONEY THAT IS NOT SEEN: SCRIPTURAL MONEY
By dint of evolution, money becomes... invisible!
When you make a transfer, a payment by card, or a withdrawal, you do not exchange real tickets.
You move numbers on accounts. This is called scriptural currency.
Today, more than 90% of the world's money is digital!
ELECTRONIC MONEY: MOBILE MONEY, CARDS, APPS
With phones, everything becomes even simpler:
• You receive your salary by Mobile Money,
• You pay with your card or a QR Code,
• You transfer money to your family in one click.
It's fast, practical... but always based on trust in the system.
CRYPTOCURRENCIES: MONEY WITHOUT A BANK
In 2009, an unknown person created Bitcoin.
It is a 100% digital currency, without a bank, without a government, managed by a computer code called blockchain.
Since then, thousands of cryptos have appeared: Ethereum, BNB, Solana, etc.
They promise a freer world, but also more unstable.
It is once again confidence that makes the strength (or weakness) of these currencies
Money was not born to make us slaves.
It was born to help us exchange, live together, build.
But over time, one thing does not change:
Money is worth nothing without trust.
So let's ask ourselves this simple but powerful question:
Who (or what) do we trust today to exchange?
The answer to this question may be the currency of tomorrow.
Written by Sikanibaima - For an enlightened people, free and master of their tools