This thread got me thinking about "banking technology".
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/7p61s8/how_did_the_money_transfer_for_the_louisiana/
I know a lot of bitcoin supports are also gold supporters.
Would a world-class gold trading platform create a better market for global transactions? Perhaps. But that was tried, and it didn't work. If you've been following the anti-fed counter-cultural for a while you probably already have some idea why.
Consider for a moment that fiat going over the "wire"(or telegram, or western union, or pony express, or letter, or whatever) between trusted parties of banks, can create a larger, more liquid market, than from, for example, shipping gold around the world.
Let's also note another positive aspects of "fiat". In addition to the ease of transferability of bank-notes, Fractional Reserve banking also lends more power to the issuer.
Perhaps you find that morally objectionable, but please don't forget that "defense" is a legitimate act, and remember that I am not making a moralistic argument. A gun can be used to kill Hitler or rob an old lady. What about banking as a technology? The ability to shift capital to fight wars or to save bankrupt super-banks is a benefit, if viewed from a different perspective. Whether that power is used for good or evil, is another issue.
So what is the dollar? The old issuers, regional city-banks, simply combined their power to form a Megazord of Banks, The "Federal" Reserve.
Does all that mean fiat is "better" than gold?
No. It's not so simple. The goldbugs have legitimate gripes with the current system. It sacrifices some financial sovereignty. And also, the fairness of the current system has always been questionable, even more-so in the post-2008 era.
Can we build a global economy on gold? on digital gold?
Can we build a global economy on blockchain?
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/a3a72r/an_interesting_question_on_askhistoriansa_great/
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