One of the downsides of cryptocurrencies is that since they are not tethered to any tangible assets, their price can fluctuate wildly, sometimes by 20% or more in a single day. Bitcoin, invented in 2009, reached a cap of over US$1 trillion in 2021. Digital currencies, currency that is stored on electronic systems, have gained popularity. By 2012, between 46 and 82 percent of all transactions were done electronically. By 2001, tens of millions of people were doing their banking on the internet. Since the start of the 21st century, online banking has become much more widespread. In the 20th century, many countries gradually phased out the gold standard in favour of fiat money-money that is not backed by any commodity. Each note promised to pay the bearer the value in gold upon demand-this is called a gold standard. In England, banknotes were introduced starting in the 17th century. Between 1000 BCE and the first millennium CE, coinage became increasingly common throughout Europe and Asia. These often included gold or silver coins, along with non-metal objects such as cowrie shells, beaver pelts, and dried corn. Many cultures around the world began using commodity money-objects whose value comes from their intrinsic value. Official systems of credit and debt were first created around 1800 BCE by the Babylonians, who established the first formal interest rate limits with the Code of Hammurabi. In a gift economy, valuables are given without any formal declaration of repayment, often thought to be a form of reciprocal altruism. Instead, most historians believe that ancient cultures worked on principles of gift economy and debt. There is no evidence to support the theory that ancient civilizations worked on systems of barter. Silver coin of the Maurya Empire, from the 3rd century BC
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |