ABSTRACT
A private money is a widely accepted medium of exchange or payment issued by a non-governmental body in the absence of any legal privileges. Private monies do not have to be generally acceptable; they merely have to be widely accepted. Three examples of contemporary private monetary systems are the Liberty Dollar, e-gold and cryptocurrencies. The former two are based on precious metals and the best-known instance of the latter is Bitcoin.
There is a public demand for and interest in private currencies from various groups of people. Some wish to hold private currencies in the expectation that they will not diminish in purchasing power as state money has; some wish to conduct illegal activity; some wish to be part of a movement against increasing state control of economic and personal behaviour; and others just want better money …
Dowd, Kevin, New Private Monies: A Bit-Part Player? (June 17, 2014). Institute of Economic Affairs Monographs, forthcoming.
First posted 2021-08-18 10:00:41
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