Understanding Crypto Fundamentals: Value Investing in Cryptoassets and Management of Underlying Risks by Thomas Jeegers

Part I
Why Consider Crypto Investments?

1. A Brief History of Money
Thomas Jeegers
1
Vienna, Austria
Central banks in their present form would no longer exist; nor
would money… The successors to Bill Gates could put the
successors to Alan Greenspan out of business.
—Mervyn King, 1999
The history of cryptoassets, like this book, begins with money. In
particular, with the established monetary system. Understanding what
makes money and how it has evolved is essential to understand the
value proposition of cryptoassets—Bitcoin in particular. Therefore, let
us start with the basics by going back several millennia to identify the
fundamentals of money. As you will see, they naturally make a case for
what is coming next.
What Makes Money?
As human societies emerged millennia ago, the need to exchange value
became crucial. Direct trades of value in a barter system, such as
individuals exchanging eggs for fruits, had severe limitations. A barter
system only works when one individual wants to buy what another
wants to sell, while the seller also wants something the buyer has to
offer. In addition, goods traded must have similar value. For example, a
seller would not want to exchange a house that took months to build for
a few eggs. Moreover, even if one could gather enough eggs, the trade
would still be unattractive since eggs are perishable and inappropriate

Understanding Crypto Fundamentals: Value Investing in Cryptoassets and Management of Underlying Risks by Thomas Jeegers