Exchange, Barter, Trade…Then Came Money

Exchange, Barter, Trade…Then Came Money

Money has been created to facilitate trade. It is an agreed upon, identifiable object of value that acts as a medium of exchange.

Prior to the creation of money, however, there was exchange, barter, and trade. This means of transferring goods and objects to and from one another has been tracked through Archaeological records, starting in the Upper Paleolithic period which began roughly 40,000 years ago. This is the third and last subdivision of the Old Stone Age. Groups of Hunters traded for the best flint weapons and other stone tools. People bartered among one another making direct deals and swaps of desired objects and goods.

In fact, since the dawn of time, barter was the desired method of transferring goods. First recorded in Egypt as early as 9000 B.C. there are records of man trading surplus goods to obtain those that they needed. Very early on, as livestock was reared, and crops grown, cattle, sheep, vegetables, fruits, and grains were bartered. Fish, eggs, skins, and milk were all traded. In 1100 B.C. people in China began exchanging small bronze castings in their trades. The money came about a bit later. Its actual form beginning first as natural objects then coin, to paper, to digital versions.

Money, in its different iterations, has served to accomplish a variety of functions in society. It facilitates exchange as a measure of value. It allows diverse cultures and groups to give gifts and reciprocate. It provides for borrowing, lending and the repayment of debt. It allows for social hierarchies and has ultimately given Governments, States, Countries, and individuals their enormous control and power.

Rare natural objects found in both nature and its surroundings emerged as units of value for trades and exchange. Shells, beads, and metals such as copper, iron, obsidian, lead, silver, and gold were just some of these natural items utilized and circulated. Even live cattle have been used as a form of currency. Currency, as we know it in its traditional form of coin, has its inception credited to being created by King Alyattes of Lydia (now part of Turkey) in 600 B.C. Referred to as the Mesopotamian shekel, that coin stamped in silver and gold featured a roaring lion. It was used throughout Asia Minor to pay Armies. Paper currency or bank notes has been said to have gained acceptance first appearing in Sweden in 1661 A.D. Marco Polos travels to China in 1290 A.D., however, was thought to have introduced paper money to Europeans. In 1250 A.D. “The Florin” a gold coin minted in the Republic of Florence encouraged International trade.

Political leaders were able to have control over the production of coins. They formalized its mining and minting process. As coins were durable, portable, and easily transported they were rapidly used to build and facilitate Armies and power. While barter of goods and services was very much popular it was coinage and paper currency that became the instrument of political control. Taxes could be extracted both for the elite and to raise and maintain armies, power, and control.

More about the history and timeline of money will follow. We will attempt to both fill in the blanks, and continue the journey from coin to currency to digital formats.

But first, we’d like to tell you about the “Pillars of Volentix”;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWBtZQk3wzU&feature=youtu.be

VDex will be an extensible, customizable, decentralized cryptocurrency exchange platform which does not possess users’ information or assets. VDex will use several protocols to facilitate cross-blockchain exchange. Users of the VDex will always maintain custody of their funds in their own virtual wallets.

Verto will be a next-generation, multi-currency wallet which integrates features from other Volentix pillars. Features functions for trading, staking, signature verification, and secure storage. Private keys are maintained in this wallet and are accessible only by its owner.

Vespucci will be an Automated Analytical Engine which researches all available information and indicators related to tradeable digital assets and provides a risk assessment score based on a sophisticated matrix of data. These metrics are visualized as widgets that can be embedded in any site which desires transparent analysis of cryptocurrencies.

With Venue, a bounty distribution platform, Volentix development network members will post bounties and campaigns to Venue for work needed — for example, fixing bugs, creating content, or promoting Volentix — and anyone may claim a bounty in exchange for their efforts. Venue provides real-time metrics on VTX rewards earned by participants and incentivizes the adoption of VTX.

VTX is the native currency of the Volentix DAO. It is a cryptographic deflationary token that provides access to staking and membership.

VTX may be staked to:

• Submit proposals to the DAO
• Vote on proposals submitted to the Network
• Participate in the governance of the DAO