Distrust any comment on the content that appears before the post is at least 3 hours old. Similarly how can we upvote it fast enough for the algorithm to not bury it before anyone has a chance to read it.
That said there is plenty here that people can engage with in good faith without reading it all word for word.
I can't also tell if it's all somewhat promo for members area. As an economist, trying to understand the incentives.
FWIW I like the research.
I have followed this writer for some time, always pretty good and VERY detailed.
If you don't know about bitcoin / historic currency, it's a great read. Covers the basis.
Knew a lot of this already, picked up some new examples I hadn't heard of before. Feel like it's a good article for sharing with older-generation family etc.
What is money?
Well, the answer to that question ties into the difference between currency and money. Currency is some other entity’s liability, and they can choose whether or not to honor that particular liability. Money is something that is intrinsically valuable in its own right to other entities, and that has no counterparty risk if you custody it yourself (although it may have pricing risk related to supply and demand). In other words, Russia’s gold is money; their FX reserves are currency. The same is true for other countries.
The author is a woman.
people who've studied economics formally already have a good grasp of what money is; as they read through the first few paragraphs of this they can see by its meandering where it may be headed. I don't plan to finish it.
That's if you read out loud (23,000 @ 140wpm = 2:45 hours). If you silent read, you can get around 240wpm (1:36 hours).
I admit I didn't read the appendix.