Special thanks to Sam Hart and Ethan Buchman for feedback and review. This article discusses the medium of money through the lens of the trust context in which it operates. Historically, value exchange within a community, where trust among individuals is inherent, often relied on credit money based on accounting records and reputation. Whereas, outside the community, particularly in import-export trade with strangers, trust is lower and people commonly turn to commodity money, such as gold or...

Special thanks to Sam Hart and Ethan Buchman for feedback and review. This article discusses the medium of money through the lens of the trust context in which it operates. Historically, value exchange within a community, where trust among individuals is inherent, often relied on credit money based on accounting records and reputation. Whereas, outside the community, particularly in import-export trade with strangers, trust is lower and people commonly turn to commodity money, such as gold or...