Few systems of currency in the world are more unique and intriguing than the rai gem set used on the midget westerly Micronesian island of Yap . carve from slabs of limestone , the donut Edward Durell Stone circles quantify up to 4 meter ( 12 base ) in diameter , although they come in sizes crop from an Oreo to a silver dollar , or a van .
The stones are not actually forge on the island of Yap , where there are no metals or such gem , but come from the distant island of Anagumang , some 640 kilometers ( ~400 miles ) away . grant toone versionof the bloodline story , the up-to-dateness emerged when a band of adventurer from Yap traveled to Anagumang over 500 years ago . stunned by the wealth of limestone on the island , the people from Yap were permitted to mine and carve the limestone in exchange for good and services to the people of Anagumang . The carved rock were then navigate back against the ocean to Yap , which is no small-scale feat debate some weigh more than an elephant .
This strenuous process of obtaining the rai stones enrich them with a good sense of value . Like a giant coin , the rai stones are exchanged as a symbol of value during culturally authoritative ceremonial , such as marriage , heritage , closure of a conflict , or a political transaction . The rai stone are still used for ceremonial exchanges today , although John Cash is in general used in the day - to - day life of the island .
However , given the rai stones ' sizing and free weight , they are not contain in a billfold and will typically remain fast outside of important spaces , like out-of-door public building or communal paths . The noesis of who owns what is record in a public unwritten tradition , with transferral of the stones being carry out in a public ceremony for all to see .
In 2019 , archaeologists and economists from the University of Oregonstudied this money systemand argued that it suffer some striking similarities to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin .
Bitcoin is a decentralised digital currency that does n’t want a central authority , like a bank , to process transactions . To keep track of transactions , the exchanges are encoded into a public transaction ledger , sleep together as the blockchain , which is a minute like a partake in spreadsheet that ’s constantly being updated . proceedings are verified conjointly by everyone within the organization and all transaction chronicle are available for everyone to see . Since shared knowledge and communal faith in the currentness is at the heart of rai stone , this squad of researchers argued it ’s distinctively like to the oh - so twenty-first - century concept of cryptocurrency .
“ As with the rai stones , data about bitcoins ’ value and ownership is managed collectively ; it ’s a propagate financial system as opposed to the more familiar , centralized systems involving third - party fiscal institution , ” Stephen McKeon , an associate professor in the Department of Finance at the University of Oregon , who worked on the project , say in astatement .
“ History often repeats itself , and this is a case in peak . It ’s reasonable to deduce that the Yapese model was the drift for a digital means of doing something very similar , ” bestow Scott Fitzpatrick , an archeologist who run to hit the books . “ Either that , or it ’s a instance of ethnic convergent phylogenesis , where two temporally and geographically distinct cultures develop a signally similar system , which would still be pretty challenging . ”
Fundamentally , the rai stones highlight just how wispy and abstruse the idea of currentness really is . currentness can be defined as anything that ’s used as a medium of exchange for goods and overhaul . In the 21st century , nations utilize fiat currency that has no intrinsic note value — you ca n’t eat or wear a banknote — and it’snot tie to the cost of any valued good , like gold . It ’s only valuable because it ’s backed by a government and we ’ve all agreed it represents value . In realism , it ’s all just abstract .
Just like a giant stone in the Micronesian jungle , a inner circle of fag between cellmates , or a bag ofancient beads , our up-to-dateness only has value because we ’ve all check it has .
