Money is, and has always been, technology. Technology for making our wealth today available for consumption tomorrow.

People assume there is a sharp line of distinction between what is money and what is not.

That’s false. Instead, throughout history, various monies (**plural**) have always existed simultaneously along a continuum of soundness, subject to competitive monetary network effects.

A non-exhaustive list:

- beads

- shells

- cattle

- salt

- silver

- gold

- cigarettes in all prisons

- tampons in women’s prisons

- gift cards

- airline miles

The key point is that monies are **a) always plural**, and **b) ever changing**, ideally slowly, to facilitate the development of civilization.

- an excerpt from the 2-minute version of Stone Ridge 2020 Shareholder Letter https://www.2minutebitcoin.org/blog/stone-ridge-2020-shareholder-letter