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What is money? Is money real? The topic of money has been talked about for centuries, and these questions are constantly thought about amongst most. Money is an extremely sensitive topic, which many are eager to talk about. Money can cause mass amounts of friction causing divides between friends, family members, and our peers. Everyone has a different viewpoint on money, with some handling the topic better than others. The way money has evolved is truly unimaginable, thanks to the rise of technology. Money has gone from stones, to now online money like Bitcoin. In different eras of time in the world, money has been valued differently. Now with inflation being a huge topic, money is extremely sacred and important to have for everyday necessities and emergencies. In previous times in the world instead of people using credit cards and cash, people would have to use coins and stones as their source of payments, which was extremely hard to acquire. Money now is easier to access compared to what the islanders of Yap had to go through to make their payments for their necessities. If people struggle with money today, imagine being in Yap having to use a stone such as fei as your source of money. Through the research of hearing about how money was in Yap, my eyes have been opened to the evolution of money and whether or not it is truly real or not.

The islanders of Yap have given me a new perspective on money, and how it has evolved over time. The article titled, The Island Of Stone Money, by Friedman stated how the islanders of Yap’s money source was a stone called fei which was, “…sufficiently large and strong…” being up to twelve feet tall and durable enough to withstand any type of transportation it might endure. Fei was the signifier if you were wealthy or not. Essentially the more you have the more wealthy you look. In the stone money era people’s wealth levels were on display due to people being able to see the fei outside of peoples homes. Peoples fei could also be traded but the new owner of it may not be marked as the owner. Since fei is made out of limestone it is able to get marked with black paint, and is seen as more of an object than money. This could be up for interpretation but it seems again like money was not real as in fei. A stone being traded, marked, unauthorized or claimed, does not seem legit or like something that has a value to it. Money now is extremely valued and people want you to know a lot of time if they have money, want to display it. During the stone money era, there were no credit cards or bank accounts. Nothing was online, so it seemed to be difficult to keep track of your finances and control of who you were giving your fei to, and receiving it. Overall, the people of Yap gave a new viewpoint on money types and how it has evolved over time. It is completely different now and it is shocking how the meaning of money also seems to be entirely different. 

Inflation is something that has been a part of finances from the stone money age, to now mostly due to Covid 19. The podcast The Invention of Money discussed in the segment The Lie That Saved Brazil, Brazil’s issues with inflation. Brazil was going through a financial crisis and the economy ended up crashing. The people of Brazil had to figure out a new plan to get their economy right again. The rising prices of basic goods in Brazil at the time were astronomical. The rising prices made many Brazilians struggle so they needed to come up with a plan. The plan that was created was essentially creating fake money. By creating this fake money plan, many Brazilans would be fooled into thinking the economy was at a better place than it actually was. This plan that was created ties back to the overall claim of is money real. Creating fake money is a topic that does not seem ethical, but apparently at the time it was the best thing to do for its citizens. The government had a lot to do with this plan and with inflation. The government gets blamed constantly for money and inflation. It always seems to fall back on the government’s fault and oftentimes when people are struggling with money, they can never take ownership for their own funds. But, back in the stone money era, inflation was new and people did not know how to combat it. Everyone knew that the prices were raised on goods, and that it was getting out of control. That’s when the plan really came into play and the government had persuaded the hundreds of thousands of people that their money was there and the economy was better. These people were falling for the trick of believing that their money was real and valid again, which then turned Brazil into one of the most important economic countries in the world. But all of the fake money and lies about funds, makes me question again about the true value of money. It does not seem to be well valued, let alone a real thing. 

Fake money and Bitcoin can go hand in hand. According to the article, The brutal truth about Bitcoin, by Prasad stated how Bitcoin is, “…transactions using only digital identities, granting users some degree of anonymity.” An anonymous financial site with only having finances online may not sound like the most legit thing in the world in regards to money. Some can view Bitcoin as a scam because of the anonymous aspect, since crime rates and stealing money would most likely be high and unidentified. The money being doubled online from Bitcoin seems as if the money is coming out of thin air. With Bitcoin you see the money online but if it is not in your hand, which can be hard to grasp for some. With all of those negative points being made about Bitcoin, is why there has been a decrease in the usage of Bitcoin. The article titled, Why Is Bitcoin Down Today, by Adams states how, “Cryptocurrencies themselves trade 24/7 because, unlike stocks and commodities, the crypto market isn’t a regulated exchange. It occurs across a decentralized network of computers.” People can be skeptical about Bitcoin because everything is computer generated, and one may ask how truthful and accurate this source is in regards to making money? Since everything is computer based, what is really real about using Bitcoin? It may not even be a safe way of handling money because of all of the secrets being attached to this app. If the people of Yap heard about this aspect of money, they would be baffled. Money has taken a huge shift clearly from then to now with technology being the main source of money. They would most likely feel like money now is not real considering their money was more than physical. 

Overall, through the research being done about Yap and the usage of fei and trading and marking stones, I have had a new appreciation for the evolution of money. This opened my eyes to think about what the real value of money is. It made me realize that maybe money is not what I think it is, and how money can come in all shapes and sizes. With the new found technologies there are plenty of ways to get money and transfer money, but always with the risk of these computer systems messing up. Technology is never going to be perfect, but if there was one piece of technology that you would not want to be messed with, it would be with your money.  

References

Adams, M. (2024, January 24). Why is bitcoin down today?. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/cryptocurrency/why-is-bitcoins-price-falling/ 

Eswar Prasad, D. D., Prasad, E., Sarah Allen, J. G., & Eswar Prasad, V. S. (2022, March 9). The brutal truth about bitcoin. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-brutal-truth-about-bitcoin/ 

Friedman, M. (1991). The island of Stone Money. Stanford University. The invention of money. This American Life. (2018, February 19). https://www.thisamericanlife.org/423/the-invention-of-money