this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2026
26 points (93.3% liked)
Explain Like I'm Five
20577 readers
58 users here now
Simplifying Complexity, One Answer at a Time!
Rules
- Be respectful and inclusive.
- No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
- Engage in constructive discussions.
- Share relevant content.
- Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
- Use appropriate language and tone.
- Report violations.
- Foster a continuous learning environment.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
That's basically what it has always been once it moved away from the inherent value of the coins. Banks have always been promises, that's why things like the FDIC were necessary.
Even coins themselves have no inherent value. That's why they are used as coins, they aren't useful for anything else.
Before electricity became popular, pennies were made of copper. After electricity made copper inherently valuable, people started melting down pennies and using the copper for an actually valuable purpose.
Even gold has little inherent value. That's why people buy it just to let it sit on a shelf doing nothing. There isn't anything more practically valuable they could do with it.