- References to Figures will have the letter ‘f’ following the page number
- accountability, 11, 85
- Afghanistan, 25, 135
- Africa, xv, 105–128
- access to banking resources, 124–125
- African Union, 120–122
- biodiversity/plants, 107
- Central African Economic and Monetary Union, 117–118
- CFA franc (Franc of the Financial Community of Africa), 117–121
- colonialism, 108, 111–114, 118, 240
- cross‐border trade, 123
- Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 110
- Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), 120–122
- few living surviving former dictators in, 111, 112
- and France, 111–119
- job market, 124
- Marshall Plan, 112
- natural resources/fertile land, 105, 107, 108
- “Out of Africa” theory, 107
- “Scramble for Africa,” 114
- as source of minerals, 105–106
- and trade, 32–33, 108, 111, 119, 120, 122–123
- West African franc zone, 121
- West African Monetary Union, 118
- youth population, 109, 112, 113
- see also Cameroon, Central Africa; Ghana; Guinea; Nigeria
- airdrop SBTs, 101–102
- Alameda Research, 201–202, 203, 205, 208, 209
- Algod (crypto trader), 195
- Algorand blockchain, 58
- algorithms, 77, 81, 83, 91–95, 103
- algorithmic stablecoins, 188, 191, 196
- Facebook, 34, 93–95, 99
- Klaytn (blockchain), use of hybrid consensus algorithm, 225, 227
- LUNA/Terra (LUNA) (digital currency), 194
- Alhadi, Magdy Abd, 149
- Alibaba, 180
- Alipay, 192
- alliances, 1, 235, 238
- Alphabet, 84
- Amazon, 84
- American Dream, 6
- Anchor protocol, 193
- Antichrist, 77
- Aoki, Steve, 175, 176
- Apple, xv, 73, 84
- Aramco Trading Co, 146
- Armstrong, Louie, 10
- Armstrong, Neil, 72
- artificial intelligence (AI), 77, 78–79, 80, 83, 182
- arts, and NFTs, 163–165, 170, 173
- Asia
- Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong (BAHK), xiv
- e‐commerce companies, 192
- iFinex (Hong Kong‐registered company), 53
- India, 97
- Indonesia, 130, 232
- Japan, 21, 47, 232
- mineral production, 106
- Terraform Labs (Singapore), 188–189, 192, 197, 200
- see also China
- Asia Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list, 189
- asset‐backed currencies, xv, 32
- Atatürk. Mustafa Kemal, 5
- ATMs, 151
- augmented reality (AR), 161
- Axis of Evil propaganda, 133
- Babylon, biblical city, 61, 62, 64, 65
- Bahamas, 157
- Ball, LaMelo, 173, 176
- ballot voting system, 9, 169
- Bank of Canada, 150
- Bank of England, 25, 50, 147, 150–151
- Bank of France, 117, 118
- Bank of Korea, 233
- Bankman‐Fried, Sam (SBF), 189, 201, 203–209, 211–212
- banks, xiv, 156, 182, 203
- African, 119, 121, 122, 125
- blockchain use, xiii, xvi, 236
- central see central banks
- commercial, 39, 40, 42, 44, 46, 53
- connectivity issues, 236
- creation of, 36
- internet banking, 216
- Iranian, 142
- large, 45, 149–150, 204
- and metaverse, 161–162
- regulations, 18
- reserve banking, 44–45, 53
- traditional, 155, 188, 192
- unavailable, 127
- b’Apps (blockchain apps), 228
- barter system, 19, 20
- BAYC (Bored Ape Yacht Club), 165, 166, 167, 175
- Ben Ali, Zine El Abidine, 110
- Bezos, Jeff, 189
- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 97
- biblical scholarship, 61
- Biden, Joe, 6, 26, 143, 145, 205
- Big Data, 78
- Binance, 188, 207, 208
- BINANCE Staking, 223
- Bitcoin, xii, xiii–xiv, xvi, 11, 57, 75, 194, 227
- associations, xiii
- CBDCs preceded by, 150
- Layer 2 upgrade (Lightning Network), 59
- reserves, 188, 195
- trading, 125
- Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong (BAHK), xiv
- BitDAO, 15
- Biya, Paul, 111
- BJP see Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
- Black Lives Matters movement, 93
- Blackburn, Marsha, 98–99
- BlackRock, 53, 189, 203
- Blockchain Trilemma, 55, 57–59, 60
- blockchains, xv, 31, 49, 59
- and banks, xiii, xvi, 236
- companies, 58
- competition for onboarding good projects, 217–218
- decentralization, 11–12, 56, 57
- decline of newly founded companies, 221n3
- ecosystems, 187, 216–217, 226, 231
- Layer 1, 58, 217, 223
- Layer 2, 58–59, 221–222, 226, 228
- mission statement, 213
- nodes (supercomputer networks), 56–58, 60, 223, 225
- open ecosystems, 226
- platforms, 60
- projects in progress, 220
- Proof‐of‐Work (PoW) mechanisms, using, 57
- storage, 38
- technology, 11–12, 32, 78, 80, 104, 150, 165, 175, 228
- terminology, 186
- working together, 59
- see also Bitcoin; Blockchain Trilemma; cryptocurrency; digital currencies; Ethereum blockchain
- Blumenthal, Richard, 99
- BNY Mellon, 53
- Boko Haram (Islamic terrorist organization), 111
- Bonaparte, Napoleon, 5
- Book of Revelations, biblical, 77
- Bored Ape (NFT)
- Borisov, Boiko, 136
- Brady, Tom, 204
- Bretton Woods conference (1944), 28, 31, 41
- BRICS economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), 130
- BTC reserves, 196, 198, 199
- Buhari, Muhammad, 126
- burning
- Burundi, 110
- Bush, George, 25
- Buterin, Vitalik, 100, 101
- BuzzFeed, 93, 94
- Byzantine Generals Problem, 73–74, 75
- Cameroon, Central Africa, 111
- Canada
- author’s experiences as immigrant in, xi
- Bank of Canada, 150
- Cape Verde, 21
- capitalism, 3
- Capitol Hill Riot, 93
- cash, 36, 39, 40, 53, 126, 188
- see also barter system; cryptocurrencies; currencies; money
- CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), xv, 35, 50–52, 78, 87, 145, 150, 152–154, 156–157, 182
- Bank of Korea, 233
- compared with paper money, 127
- cross‐border transactions, 154–155
- Federal Reserve System, US, 204, 237
- local transactions, 154
- pros and cons, 126–127
- retail, 152
- and trade, 127, 128
- Central African Economic and Monetary Union, 117–118
- Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) see CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies)
- central banks, xiv, xv, 27, 46, 49, 50, 127, 131, 148, 150, 153, 154, 158
- in Africa, 119, 121, 122
- assets purchased by, 47
- bailing‐out function, 39
- Bank of Canada, 150
- Bank of England, 25, 50, 147, 150–151
- Bank of France, 117, 118
- Bank of Korea, 233
- Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), 120–121
- European Central Bank, 150
- as government’s bank, 40
- Norges Bank, Norway, 150
- People’s Bank of China (PBOC), 157
- reserves, 39
- Riksens Ständers Bank, Sweden, 40
- Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden, 150, 156, 157
- in the US see Federal Reserve System, US
- working on a macro‐ or micro‐scale, 39
- centralization
- CENTRE (open‐source fintech project), 53
- CEX (centralized crypto exchanges), 221
- CFA franc (Franc of the Financial Community of Africa), 117–118, 119
- chain explorers, 222
- Chainlink Verifiable Randomness Function, 175, 224
- chalcopyrite, 185
- Changpeng Zhao (CZ), 206–209
- Che Guevara (Ernesto Guevara de la Serna), x–xi
- Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), 32
- children, social media use, 84–85
- China, 47, 130, 145, 149
- digital yuan (e‐CNY), 151, 152, 155
- North Industries Group, 146
- offshore digital yan (e‐CNH), 155
- People’s Bank of China (PBOC), 157
- Chirac, Jacques, 117
- Christianity, 64, 65
- Churchill, Winston, 5
- Circle, 53
- Citibank, 46
- CNN, 145
- Coinbase, 53
- CoinMarketCap, 231–232
- Cold War, 73, 134, 137
- ColdFusionTV, 193
- colonialism, 108, 111–114, 158, 240
- monetary colonialism, 118
- post‐colonialism, 118–119
- commercial banks, 39, 40, 42, 44, 46, 53
- commodities or services, trade in, 19, 30, 32, 33, 132, 142
- Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), 123
- Common Sense Media, 84
- communities, ix, x, xiv
- Community Standards, 83, 84, 85
- Compaoré, Blaise, 110
- computer coding, 76
- Consensus Nodes, 225
- ConsenSys, 223
- ConstitutionDAO, 16
- Consumer Price Index, 25
- consumerism, 3
- content creation industry, 37–38
- cooperation agreements, 115
- COVID‐19 pandemic, 76, 86, 142, 179
- credit scoring, 34, 50, 87, 100, 101
- crowdfunding, 15
- cryptocurrencies (crypto), 11, 15, 35, 157
- adoption of, 213
- benefits, 150
- capitalization, 200
- centralization and decentralization, 49, 51, 53, 57, 58
- crypto‐related media, 193
- and data protection, 87
- as “digital gold,” 186
- futures and options trading, 203
- global market, 190
- growth in, ix, 152
- and metaverse, 163
- and Nigeria, 125
- panic selling, 194
- policies, xvii
- price‐stable payment system, 190
- regulated exchanges, 177
- stop losses, 194
- see also Bitcoin; blockchains; Ethereum blockchain
- CryptoKitties, 165, 166, 175
- Cuban Revolution (1953–1959), xi
- currencies
- DAI (stablecoin), 15
- DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), 11, 12, 15–16, 32, 34, 102, 170, 195
- The DAO (first DAO), 13–15
- defining, 10
- governance tokens, 14
- investment vehicle‐DAOs, 15
- and Klaytn blockchain, 222, 224, 229, 230
- members, 12, 13
- smart contracts, 12, 14
- sub‐DAOs, 16
- tokens, receiving, 10–11
- and voting, 16–17
- see also BitDAO; ConstitutionDAO; FWB (FriendsWith BenefitsDAO); LexDAO; MakerDAO; UkraineDAO; UnicornDAO; Uniswap DAO
- d’Apps (decentralized applications), 221, 228
- Das, Ankhi, 97
- data/financial data
- access to, 49
- demand for, 183
- and global debt, 21
- harvesting of, 88
- investigating, 50
- metadata, 88
- privacy, 88
- protecting, 86
- sharing, 13
- validating, 12
- DCash, 126, 156
- de Gaulle, Charles, 114–115
- debt
- global, comparative analysis, 21
- in the US, 25–27
- Decentraland DAO, 16
- decentralization, xvi, 55, 56, 85
- Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) see DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations)
- DeepMind AI (Google), 79
- DeFi (decentralized finance) projects, 15, 17, 49, 59, 186, 196
- Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 110
- Department of Financial Services (DFS), New York State, 55
- Department of Justice, US, 209
- dictatorships, 8, 109, 111, 112
- Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, UK, 88
- digital currencies, 50, 79, 126, 185, 242
- “Digital Gangsters,” Facebook as, 88n1, 91
- digital payments, 145–146
- digital wallet, xv, 50, 222
- distributed ledgers
- DNA samples, collecting, 105
- Do Kwon (CEO of Terraform Labs, Singapore), 188–189, 192–197, 199–201, 211
- dollar, 22, 26, 28–31, 46, 53–55, 125, 126, 131, 142, 146–150, 158, 176, 186, 189, 191, 194, 212, 238
- de‐dollarization, 137, 153, 237
- degrading of prominence, 148–154, 237
- e‐dollar, 240
- foreign investment, dollar‐denominated, 150
- as global currency, 28
- hegemony, 157
- high cost of borrowing, 149
- linked to gold (during Gold Standard), 27, 28, 158
- loss of prominence, 237
- pegging UST to, 194
- Sand Dollar, 155, 156
- shrinking global reserves, 150
- unpegging from gold, 29, 41
- see also Petrodollar
- dos Santos, Eduardo, 110
- DOT (Polkadot token), 60
- Dylan, Bob, 129, 158
- Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), 156
- Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), 122
- Ecosystem Development (Eco Dev), 219
- ECOWAS see Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
- Edelman Trust Barometer (2016), 2
- Egypt, 130, 149
- elections, 8, 9, 87
- contesting, 104
- future, 169
- rigged, 115
- in the UK, 91, 236
- in the US, 82, 143, 144, 205
- winning, 5–6
- see also voting
- elites, 7, 37, 43, 69–70, 71, 164
- Ellison, Caroline, 189, 202, 206, 207, 208
- Ellison, Glenn, 207
- emotions, using to control the masses, 7, 8
- eNaira, 126–128
- Endpoint Nodes, 225
- EndSars demonstrations, Nigeria, 125, 128
- entrepreneurs, 34
- Eritrea, 21
- e‐sports trophies, 176
- Etemenanki (alleged biblical Tower of Babel), 62, 64, 66, 68, 80
- Ether Cards Dynamic NFT, 175
- Ethereum blockchain, xvi, 11–12, 13, 54, 57, 150, 194
- Ethereum Improvement Proposals, 229
- Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), 223
- European Central Bank, 150
- European Union, 119, 120, 142
- Facebook, 11, 82–83, 85, 88
- abuse of power by, 94–95
- algorithms, 34, 93–95, 99
- “Digital Gangsters,” 88n1, 91
- emoji reactions, 91–93
- “Like” reaction, 92
- posts with angry faces, 92–95
- and Rohinyga genocide, Myanmar, 82, 95–97
- see also Meta (largest social media conglomerate)
- fair trade, 238, 240
- farmer, example of, 19, 30, 32, 33
- Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), 44, 46
- Federal Reserve Board of Governors, 44
- Monetary Policy Report, 45
- Federal Reserve System, US, 27, 40–41, 43–45, 46, 237–238
- Feminist Coalition, 125–126, 128
- fiat money, 76, 126, 191
- Financial Action Task Force (FATF), gray list, 157
- financial imperialism, 158
- financial panics, 41, 42
- fiscal budget, 25–26, 40
- food supplies, disruption of, 4, 24
- fractional reserve banking, 53
- Françafrique, 115–117
- France
- and Africa, 111–119
- attacks on American merchant ships, 137, 139
- Bank of France, 117, 118
- Côte d’Ivoire massacre (2011), 119
- French Communist Party (PCF), 48
- French Community, 115
- French Revolution, 24
- NGO Survie, 116
- presidents, 115
- fraud, 169–170, 200, 203
- free trade, 30, 31, 104, 245, 250
- freedom of speech, 81, 85
- FTX, 201–211
- collective liabilities, 210–211
- crash of, 187, 189, 190, 212, 221
- FTT (native token), 205, 206, 207, 210
- wallets, 206
- FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt), 187
- FWB (FriendsWithBenefitsDAO), 16
- games/gaming industry
- economy, 180
- in‐game products, 178
- gamers, 179–180
- metaverse, 16, 166, 174, 176, 179, 180, 221
- and NFTs, 166, 173
- open‐world games, 180–181
- P2E (play‐to‐earn) games, 175
- Roblox, 177–178
- test skills, 176, 180
- see also metaverse; NFTs (non‐fungible tokens)
- GANs see Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs)
- GDP (Gross Domestic Product), 3, 40, 41, 49, 67, 108, 121
- Gen Z, 3, 35
- Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), 79
- Genesis, 65
- genetic diversity, 105
- Gensler, Gary, 207
- Germany, 24–25
- gerrymandering, 8
- Ghana, 111
- Gini Coefficient, 229
- global debt, 21
- Global Financial Crisis (2007–2008), 23f, 149, 190
- global financial system, 52, 142, 237
- global population, 3–4
- Global South, 130, 132
- global warming, 3
- GMO Internet Group, 223
- gold
- “digital,” 186, 194
- dollar linked to (during Gold Standard), 27, 28, 158
- dollar unpegging from, 29, 41
- fool’s gold, 186
- reserves, 27, 28, 41, 131, 148–149
- rushes, 185, 186
- World Gold Council, 148–149
- Gold Standard, 27, 28, 42
- Goldman Sachs, 161
- government‐backed currencies, xv
- Grateful Dead (rock band), x
- Greece, 23
- Green, Seth, 166, 169
- Ground X (subsidiary of Kakao Group), 221
- Group of Seven (G7), 152
- Group of Twenty (G20) Summit, Hamburg (2017), 112
- Guinea, 115, 119
- Gwin, Catherine
- US Relations with the World Bank, 1945–1992, 47
- The World Bank, It’s First Half Century, 48
- Habré, Hissène, 110
- hacking, 14
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon, 61
- Haugen, Frances, 95, 98, 99
- Hayes, Arthur, xiii
- Hinduism, 64
- hippie era (1960s and 1970s), x
- Hirst, Damien, 194
- Hitler, Adolf, 7, 8
- Houphouët‐Boigny, Félix, 116
- hunter‐gatherers, 1
- Hussein, Saddam, 140
- hyperinflation, 24, 25, 194
- IBFT (Istanbul Byzantine Fault Tolerance), 225
- IBM, xv
- iFinex (Hong Kong‐registered company), 53
- IMF see International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- immigration
- anti‐immigrant fascism, 6
- author’s experiences as immigrant in Canada, ix, xi
- imperialism, 158
- India, 97
- Indonesia, 130
- inflation, 24–25, 28, 30, 40, 75, 150
- influencer marketing, 34
- initial coin offering (ICO), 193
- Instagram, 81, 82, 98
- INSTEX see Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX)
- Institute of International Finance, 20
- Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), 142
- integrated circuit (IC), 76
- interest rates, 29, 39, 205, 245
- International Court of Justice (ICJ), 97
- International Monetary Fund (IMF), 21, 27, 28, 47, 108, 148, 156
- internet, xv, 11
- internet banking, 216
- Internet of Things, 32
- interoperability, 59
- Interpol, 200
- Iran, 130, 142
- Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), 140
- Iron Pigeons (trading card‐like NFTs), 174
- Islam, 66
- Islamophobia, 6
- Istanbul Byzantine Fault Tolerance (IBFT) see IBFT (Istanbul Byzantine Fault Tolerance)
- Jane Street Capital, 201–202
- Japan, 21, 47
- Jefferson, Thomas, 138
- journalistic integrity, 87
- JP Morgan, 46, 161–162, 182
- Judaism, 64, 65
- Jump Crypto, 195
- Kahlo, Frida, burning of painting, 171–172
- Kai Protocol, 223
- Kakao Group (South Korean company), 215–233
- Kazakhstan, 130
- Khashoggi, Jamal, 143
- Klaytn (blockchain), Kakao Group, 215, 233
- all‐inclusive, 230
- decentralized structure, now incorporating, 229, 230
- from a DeFi ecosystem to a blockchain, 216–217
- ecosystem, 231
- engineers, 219
- and Ethereum blockchain, 222, 223, 225, 228, 231
- Ethereum equivalence, 229
- global adoption, 218–219
- Governance Council, 226–227, 229–230
- inflation, 231
- joining by author, 218
- KLAY (native token), 230–232
- Klayswap platform, 217
- Klaytn 2.0, 223–224
- Klaytn Growth Fund, 232
- Light Paper, 230f
- minting, 231
- objectives, 223
- ranking of, 231–232
- Service Chains, 226
- and Web 3.0 projects, 217
- see also Kakao Group (South Korean company)
- Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines, 50, 87, 127
- Koldewey, Robert, 61, 62
- Korea
- LaMelo Ball dynamic NFT project, 167
- language, 68–72
- Latin America, xi
- leadership, 1–2, 5
- centralized, 23
- electing, 8
- LexDAO, 17
- LGBTQ+ artists, 165
- Lightning Network, 59
- Linux, xv
- Logical Positivism, 69, 71
- Lua programming language, 179
- Luft, Gal, De‐Dollarization, 146
- LUNA/Terra (LUNA) (digital currency), 190–201
- crash of, 187, 189, 190, 200, 212, 220–221
- initial coin offering (ICO), 193, 211
- launch of (2019), 187–188
- Luna Foundation Guard, 195, 196, 199
- LUNATICS (supporters of LUNA), 197
- market cap (original), 188
- minting of, 188, 194
- price, 188, 194, 199
- yield, 202
- see also Terra Alliance; Terra Money; Terraform Labs (Singapore); TerraUSD (UST), stablecoin
- Macron, Emmanuel, 111, 112, 121
- MakerDAO, 15, 193, 195
- Malaysia, 34
- marketing, 16, 17, 34, 218
- Meaningful Social Interaction (MSI), 92, 94
- media, 8, 38, 52
- Menant, Aurelien, xiii
- Meta (largest social media conglomerate), 82, 84, 92, 98, 104
- metaverse introductory video, 160
- PR crises, 99–100
- see also Facebook
- metaphysics, 71
- metaverse
- and banks, 161–162
- developers, 181
- economy, 160, 161
- games/gaming industry, 16, 166, 174, 176, 179, 180, 221
- infrastructure, 221, 223, 227
- investments in, 182
- and JP Morgan, 161–162
- marketplaces, 180
- and NFTs, 160, 163, 174, 176
- non‐gaming applications, 181
- open‐world games, 180–181
- potential impact, 163, 177, 181, 182, 227
- regulations, 181
- see also games/gaming industry
- Microsoft, xv, 84
- might is right, 2, 3, 5
- military leaders, 5
- miners, 75
- minting, 41, 117
- and burning, 188, 191, 194
- KLAY, 232
- Klaytn mints, 231
- of LUNA, 188, 194
- of NFTs, 165, 169, 171, 172, 174
- Mirror (platform), 17
- Mobarak, Martin, 170–171
- Modad, Firas, 149
- monetary colonialism, 118
- monetary imperialism, 108, 132
- monetary policy, 39, 41, 44
- Monetary Policy Report, Federal Reserve Board, 45
- money, 16, 117, 160, 180, 187, 188, 197, 205, 206, 210
- borrowing, 120
- concept, 37
- and DAOs, 14, 15
- decentralization, 11
- exchange of, 153
- fiat, 76, 126, 191
- flow of, 39
- invention of, 19–20
- laundering of, 49, 157
- losing, 200, 248
- new, 39
- portability of, 35
- precious metals, use for, 20, 35
- printing, 20, 28, 29, 39–40, 42
- real, 178
- storing, 118
- supply of, 25, 39, 40
- traditional, 212
- value of, 20–21, 35, 52
- withdrawing, 42
- see also asset‐backed currencies; barter system; Bitcoin; blockchains; cash; CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies); cryptocurrency; currencies; debt, global; decentralization; digital currencies; Gold Standard; paper money; shell money
- Moore’s Law, 76
- Morgan, John, 43
- MSI see Meaningful Social Interaction (MSI)
- Mubarak, Muhammad Hosni El Sayed, 110
- Mugabe, Robert, 109–110
- multilateral cooperation, 48
- music and musicians, ix–x, 10, 12, 13, 173, 175
- Musk, Elon, 81–82, 159
- Muslims, 66
- Myanmar, Rohingya genocide (2018), 82, 95–97
- Nakamoto, Satoshi see Satoshi Nakamoto
- NASA, 73
- nation states
- formation of, 2
- without a leader, 10
- natural resources, depletion, 106
- NBA Top Shots (NFT project), 167, 176
- Nebuchadnezzar II, King, 61, 62, 63
- Netmarble, 223, 232
- New Administrative Capital, 149
- New York Fed, 45–46
- New York Times, 26
- NFTs (non‐fungible tokens), xvi, 12, 14, 51, 100, 217
- and the arts, 163–165, 170, 173
- and DAOs, 170
- dynamic, 167, 173, 174, 176, 183
- games/gaming industry, 166, 173
- hype, 170
- and metaverse, 160, 163, 174, 176
- minting of, 165, 169, 171, 172, 174
- multiply‐able, 166
- pop culture, 167–168
- prices, 159–160
- profits, 165–166
- and smart contracts, 164, 172
- and speculation, 212, 213
- static, 163, 167
- see also Bored Ape #8817; Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC); games/gaming industry; LaMelo Ball dynamic NFT project; metaverse; NBA Top Shots (NFT project); “The Merge” (NFT)
- Nifty Gateway (NFT marketplace), 167
- Nigeria, 86, 111, 114, 120, 121, 125–128, 130
- 9/11 terrorist attacks, 133
- Nixon, Richard, 29, 41, 158
- nodes (supercomputer networks), blockchains, 56–58, 60, 223, 225
- Nominated Proof of Stake (NPoS), 60
- non‐fungible tokens (NFTs) see NFTs (non‐fungible tokens)
- non‐playable characters (NPCs), 182
- North America, mineral production, 106
- Norway, Norges Bank, 150
- nuclear warheads, 133, 135
- Obama, Barack, 143
- on‐demand streaming, 37–38
- Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, 210
- Onyx (virtual lounge of JP Morgan), 161
- OPEC, 237
- OpenSea (NFT marketplace), 223
- open‐source development, xv, 54
- open‐world games, 180–181
- Ouattara, Alassane, 121
- “Out of Africa” theory, 107
- P2E (play‐to‐earn) games, 175
- Pakistan, 135
- Panama Papers, 2
- Pandora Papers, 2
- paper money, 20, 27, 36, 37, 42, 51, 52, 127, 156, 157
- see also cash; money
- parachains, 59
- Paris, Franck, 111
- party hopping, 8
- patronage, in the arts, 164
- PayPal, 192
- People’s Bank of China 157
- Peretti, Jonah, 93, 94
- Petrodollar, 31, 146, 237
- Pharaoh, 66
- philosophy, 69–70
- phishing, 166
- political activist‐artists, 165
- Polkadot, 59, 60
- Ponzi schemes, 185, 191
- population growth, declining, 4
- Positive Altruism, 204
- pragmatism, concept of, 71
- precious metals, use for money, 20, 35
- Prime Trust, 54
- primitive tools, 1
- profile pictures (PFPs), 163
- progress, 72
- Project Icebreaker, 154
- Proof‐of‐Contribution (PoC), 232
- Proof‐of‐Stake (PoS) mechanism, 57, 58, 60, 225–227
- Proof‐of‐Work (PoW) mechanism, 57, 225
- propaganda, 8, 85, 132
- Proud Boys (right‐wing military group), 6
- Proxy Nodes, 225
- pump‐and‐dump action, 194, 197, 207
- Pussy Riot (Russian activist‐protest art rock band), 165
- pyrite, 185
- Quao, Arikana Chihombori, 108
- Quarterly Labour Force Survey, South Africa, 113
- Quran, 66
- RaidGuild, 17
- Reagan, Ronald, 25
- reality, logical form of, 70
- recession, global, 28
- regulation, xvi
- Relay Chain, 60
- Reputation Tokens (RTs), 32, 37, 102, 177, 181
- reserve banks, 44–45, 53
- resource scarcity, 1, 3, 4
- Rich, Claudius James, 61
- Riksens Ständers Bank, Sweden, 40–41
- Roblox (online game platform), 177–178, 179
- Robux (in‐game currency), 178
- Rogan, Joe, 99
- Rohingya genocide, Myanmar (2018), 82, 95–97
- RTs see Reputation Tokens (RTs)
- Russia
- annexation of Crimea (2014), 136
- army, 130
- interest rates, 149
- ruble, 147, 149
- sanctions on, 136
- war in Ukraine, 23–24, 26, 76–77, 111, 146–148
- Salame, Ryan, 205
- Salibra, Larry, xiii
- Salman, Mohammed bin, 143
- sanctions, 133, 136–137, 140, 142, 147
- Satoshi Nakamoto, white paper (Bitcoin: A Peer‐to‐Peer Electronic Cash System), xii, 75, 150
- Saudi Arabia, 31, 130, 143, 145, 146, 237
- Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, 145–146
- scalability, 55, 57–59, 226
- scamming, 86, 186–187
- scarcity of resources see resource scarcity
- Schøyen Collection, 62
- “Scramble for Africa,” 114
- secrecy laws, 50
- security, 55
- Segal, Emily, 17
- Selgin, George, 46
- semiconductors, 77
- Senegal, 130
- Sequoia Capital, 203
- Service Chains (“spokes”), 226
- Shah, Beju, 154
- sharding, 58
- shell money, 20, 35, 51
- see also barter system; cash; money
- Shin, Daniel, 192
- Shostak, Robert, 73, 74
- Silicon Valley, 73
- simulation models, 151
- Singapore
- Skynet, 78
- Slock.it (team of developers), 13
- small traders, 32–33
- smart contracts, 12, 14, 31–33, 164, 232
- smartphone, xv, 33, 105, 125, 153
- apps, 152
- SMEs (small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises), 104
- smuggling, 139
- social media, 8, 11, 15–16
- accused of accelerating suicide risk, 85, 98
- AI technology, 83, 87
- algorithms, 103
- children’s use of, 84–85
- companies, 95, 97, 98, 99
- content, 186
- decentralization, 104
- identity theft, 244
- influencers, 186
- platforms, 81, 83–84, 87–88, 248
- and SBTs, 102
- see also Facebook; Instagram; TikTok; Twitter
- Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication see SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication)
- SoftBank, 189, 210
- software development kits (SDKs), 221–222
- Software Implemented Fault Tolerance (SIFT), 73
- Solana blockchain, 194
- “Soulbound” tokens (SBTs), 100
- South Africa, 110, 113
- South America, 23
- Southeast Asia, xv
- special‐purpose vehicle (SPV), 142
- speculation, 211–213
- SRI International, Computer Science Lab, 73
- Sri Lanka, 22, 24f
- stablecoins, 33, 52–53, 54, 87, 154, 191, 196
- stagflation, 28
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 133
- submarines, Virginia class, 75
- Sudan, 21, 110
- Sweden, 40, 142, 153
- e‐krona, 157
- Riksens Ständers Bank, 40
- Sveriges Riksbank, 150, 156, 157
- SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), xv, 142, 236
- Temasek, Singapore, 189, 210
- Tencent, WeChat Pay, 151
- Terra Alliance, 192
- Terra Money, 193
- Terra Network, 192
- Terraform Labs (Singapore), 188–189, 192, 197, 200
- Terra/LUNA see LUNA/Terra (LUNA) (digital currency)
- TerraUSD (UST), stablecoin, 54, 55, 188, 192–196, 211
- as “algorithmic stablecoin,” 191
- Anchor protocol, 193
- ecosystem, 200
- fall of (2022), 54–55, 187, 198, 200, 220–221
- launching of (2020), 194
- pegging to the dollar, 194
- perceived as a modern‐day pyramid scheme, 199
- renaming, 200
- reserves, 195, 197
- yield, 188
- terrorism, 25–26
- Tether (USDT), stablecoin, 53
- Thailand, 130
- The Fed see Federal Reserve System, US
- “The Merge” (NFT), 167
- Three Arrows Capital, 195
- TikTok, 81, 82, 97
- Tolokonnikova, Nadya, 165
- total value locked (TVL), 223
- Touré, Ahmed Sékou, 115
- Tower of Babel, 62, 65, 66
- TPS see transactions‐per‐second (TPS)
- trade, 20, 86, 103, 112–113, 136, 137, 146, 150
- and Africa, 108, 111, 119, 120, 123
- barriers to, 124, 125, 130
- barter system, 19, 20
- and CBDCs, 127, 128
- and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), 32
- in commodities or services, 19, 30, 32, 33, 35, 37, 132, 142
- corruption of, 30–31
- cross‐border, 123, 126, 154–155
- cryptocurrency, 51, 125, 150
- diversification, 124
- embargoes, 180
- fair, 238, 240, 250
- free, 30, 31, 104, 245
- global, xv, 30, 52, 131, 132, 158, 235, 238
- increase in participation, 32–33, 236–237
- isolation of the US, 137–140
- loss of prominence of the US dollar, 237
- negotiations, 140
- new system, need for, 30, 31, 33, 35
- and portability of money, 35
- regulated, 111, 113
- restrictions, 27
- skills/services, using, 35, 36, 37
- small traders, 32–33
- and smuggling, 139
- subsidies, 30
- tariffs, 47
- trading routes, 140
- traditional systems, 30
- unfair, 131
- see also barter system; money
- trade wars, 76
- transactions‐per‐second (TPS), 223, 225–227
- hub and “spoke” architecture, 226
- troll farms, 85
- Trump, Donald, 26, 82, 130, 142
- inadequacy of response to COVID, 6–7
- Turkey, 23, 130
- Twitter, 81, 82, 195
- Tyson, Mike, 174, 176
- Ukraine war (2022), 23–24, 26, 76–77, 111, 146–148, 235–236
- UkraineDAO, 165, 204
- under‐banked highly commoditized countries, xv
- UnicornDAO, 165
- Uniswap DAO, 17
- United Arab Emirates, 130
- United Kingdom
- attacks on American merchant ships, 137, 139
- Bank of England, 25, 50, 147, 150–151
- Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, 88
- elections, 91, 236
- parliament, 149–150
- political turmoil, 236
- pound, 147
- Royal Navy, 137
- war with United States, 140
- United Nations, 133, 158, 238
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 123
- United States, 129–158
- Afghanistan war, 25
- Black Lives Matters movement, 93
- Capitol Hill Riot, 93
- central bank assets held by, 47
- citizenship, 138
- Civil War, 42
- Constitution, 16
- Department of Financial Services (DFS), New York State, 55
- Department of Justice, 209
- dollar linked to gold (during Gold Standard), 27, 28
- elections, 82, 143, 144, 205
- Embargo of 1807, 138
- Federal Reserve, 27, 40–41, 43–45, 46
- fiscal budget, 25–26
- foreign investment, 29
- foreign policy, 25–26, 31, 43, 48, 129, 235
- gold reserves, 27, 28, 41, 148–149
- government, 149–150
- inflation rate, 25
- Iraq war, 25
- isolation of, 137–140
- judging of, 130
- national security, 26
- Navy, 139
- repositioning of, 238–239
- Revolutionary War, 137
- sanctions imposed by, 133, 136–137, 140, 142, 147, 236
- SWIFT system, 142
- terrorism risk, 26
- Treasury, 142
- unpegging the dollar from gold, 29, 41
- veto power, 135
- Vietnam War, 28
- and World Bank, 47, 48, 49
- see also Biden, Joe; Bush, George; Nixon, Richard; Obama, Barack; Trump, Donald
- uranium, 133
- USD Coin (USDC), stablecoin, 53–54
- USS Chesapeake, 138
- UST see TerraUSD (UST), stablecoin
- Vakt (oil trading platform), 146
- value of money, 20–21, 35, 52
- Verifiable Randomness Function (VFR), 175
- Verschave, François‐Xavier, 116
- veteran fund managers, 189
- Vietnam War, 28
- virtual reality, 161, 163
- Visa, 57, 58, 151
- voting
- ballot voting system, 9, 169
- and DAOs, 16–17
- democratic process of, 2
- fraud, reducing risk of, 169–170
- large‐scale, 9
- problems with, 8–9
- and Trump, 6
- see also elections
- Wade, Abdoulaye, 110
- Wall Street, 45
- Wall Street Journal, The, 93, 97, 206
- Washington Post, The, 93, 143
- Watson, Tom, 91
- weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), 134
- weathered mica, 185
- Web 2.0, 11, 38
- Web 3.0, 11, 13, 17, 35, 224
- global economy, 236
- technology/tools, 52, 77
- and transformation of trade, 31, 32, 35
- Weese, Leo, xiii
- WeMade, 232
- West Africa, shell money, use of, 20
- West African Monetary Union, 118
- Weyl, Glen, 104
- WhatsApp, 82
- Wikileaks, 2
- Witnet, 224
- Wittgenstein, Ludwig, Tractatus Logico‐Philosophicus, 69, 71
- World Bank, 28, 47, 48, 49, 124, 236
- World Bank Group report (2016), 123
- World Economic Forum, 102f, 204, 238
- World Gold Council, 148–149
- WriteRace, 17
- Zilliqa, 58
- Zochowski, Michael, 56
- Zuckerberg, Mark, 82, 88, 92, 99, 160
- Zytara USD (ZUSD), stablecoin, 53, 54