Evolution of Money from Stones to Digital Blocks: Transformation of Value
Abstract
This study examines the evolutionary route of money and discusses its transformation with increasing digitalization. Although economic thought has focused on different topics and employed different analyses throughout history, concepts such as value and justice have always been part of the discussion. Approaches regarding the functions of money have also changed with digitalization and new possibilities have emerged regarding its impact on social structure. As central banks are also joining this journey, which started with bitcoin using blockchain technology, it is of great importance that the practices to be implemented eliminate concerns raised in the past and are functional in terms of equality and justice. This paper discusses the current framework, along with important themes in economic history and the development of decentralized technologies that aim to alter functions of money. The opportunities and potential risks are identified and possible scenarios for the future are discussed in conclusion.
Keywords
Bitcoin , Monetary Policy , Central Bank Digital Currency , Blockchain
References
- Ammous, S. (2018). The bitcoin standard: the decentralized alternative to central banking. John Wiley & Sons.
- Bailey, A. M., Rettler, B., & Warmke, C. (2021). Philosophy, politics, and economics of cryptocurrency II: The moral landscape of monetary design. Philosophy Compass, 16(11), e12784.
- Bank of International Settlements. (2022). BIS Annual Economic Report 2022 The future monetary system. https://www.bis.org/publ/arpdf/ar2022e3.htm
- Bank of International Settlements. (2022). CBDCs in emerging market economies. https://www.bis.org/publ/bppdf/bispap123.htm
- Bjerg, O. (2017). Designing New Money - The Policy Trilemma of Central Bank Digital Currency. CBS Working Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=298538
- Bordo, M. D. (1993). The Bretton Woods international monetary system: a historical overview. In A retrospective on the Bretton Woods system: Lessons for international monetary reform (pp. 3-108). University of Chicago Press.
- Brunnermeier, M. K., James, H., & Landau, J. P. (2019). The digitalization of money (No. w26300). National Bureau of Economic Research.
- Butler, S. (2022). The Philosophy of Bitcoin and the Question of Money. Theory, Culture & Society, 39(5), 81-102.
- Caliskan, K. (2020). Data money: The socio-technical infrastructure of cryptocurrency blockchains. Economy and Society, 49(4), 540-561.
- Cohen, G. A. (2011). On the currency of egalitarian justice, and other essays in political philosophy. Princeton University Press.