If currency isn’t merely coins, notes, or even cryptocurrencies, what is it, truly? That’s the inquiry at the core of this week’s episode of The Clear Crypto Podcast, where hosts Nathan Jeffay (StarkWare) and Adrian Blust (Tonal Media) engage with Bill Maurer, the dean of the UC Irvine School of Social Sciences and a prominent anthropologist in finance.
Returning to the origins
“I typically start by revisiting history and discussing case studies like ancient Mesopotamia,” Maurer stated.
He indicated that as he transitions into a discussion about blockchain or crypto, he refers to the rise of societies, and consequently, the eventual development of a currency framework. Nevertheless, in the beginning, it wasn’t a token, coin, or banknote; it wasn’t even something that was “transmitted hand to hand.”
He elaborated:
“What they possessed was a sophisticated system for maintaining records.”
For Maurer, that’s pivotal for comprehending both ancient economies and contemporary digital currencies: “money fundamentally serves as a means of documenting credits and debts, and that’s all it has ever been.”
Related: Bitcoin’s diminishing supply might lead to price surge: Sygnum
The function of Bitcoin
While Bitcoin is frequently regarded as a novel form of digital currency or even celebrated as the new “digital gold,” Maurer contests that perspective:
“Although the Bitcoin system acknowledges that money is a record-keeping action, it remains tethered to the notion that it is money in the guise of something akin to a coin.”
Maurer perceives this as a lost opportunity. “It could foster an entirely different set of associations around data and value without necessitating the abstraction of it into the concept of money,” he stated. “You might refer to it as rights to a segment of a ledger that continuously evolves moving forward in time.”
The discourse also examines what blockchain discloses regarding how humans establish trust. “We are relational beings, not solitary beings,” Maurer mentioned. “What blockchain has pledged is a method of conceptualizing that sort of framework, while also accomplishing it in a decentralized manner.”
To experience the complete dialogue on The Clear Crypto Podcast, tune in to the entire episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And remember to explore Cointelegraph’s complete assortment of additional shows!
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