FAQ

There is no law in any country that covers the whole range of what we call currencies, but there are many laws that cover aspects of them. For example, in the U.S. there are federal tax reporting regulations about barter exchanges. Some uses of free currencies may be seen as breaking these regulations if participants don’t do the necessary reporting. But notice that other countries have no such laws, so there will be very interesting legal cases around transactions in open currencies between people across national borders. Another example: certain countries and many U.S. states have laws that cover businesses issuing coupons. Some free currencies may be seen as coupons under these laws and thus be subject to them. So the legality of a particular currency will depend on its particular rules of operation, and how the governing jurisdiction interprets them.

The fundamental challenge is that free currencies are a paradigm shift. They require a new understanding of how currencies are actually a large family of related wealth building information systems. They require agreement that creating these systems is a fundamental right of all communities. This paradigm shift creates new social evolution, laws will follow much later. This is the case for the abolition of slavery, racial and gender equality, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, etc.

So, on the one hand Nations claim their sovereign right to issue money in the name of citizens, but on the other hand this right has been abandoned to the private banking sector. On the one hand Constitutions declare the rights of citizens to equal treatment and safety, but on the other, conventional money works in opposition to these declarations. Open currencies will hopefully, in time, release us from these fundamental contradictions.

Governments may or may not be upset by new currencies. There is one very typical scenario where governments embody the old paradigm and do everything to keep it in place. By doing so they stir up creative forces that open innovative paths towards new paradigms. Once upon a time slavery was legal and defended by States on the basis that large parts of the nation’s economy was based on that slavery. Today’s economy is built on money and there will certainly be many people to say that there is no possible future without keeping money in its current form.

But there are other scenarios too. In the face of great difficulties, governments do sometimes embrace change that visionaries bring forward that show a path forward. We believe that open currencies encompass more universal values and will provide a better and safer economy for citizens. De facto they carry the founding values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights! In the end, which government will want to stop this evolutionary wave? Eventually open currencies will become the norm.

Like governments, there are many scenarios as to how banks will respond. They are already experimenting with adopting blockchain technology. But, in practice, banks will soon lose their monopoly on issuing expensive money. Many of them will be very upset and will do everything in their power to maintain that privilege. But more and more leaders inside the banks themselves understand the deep systemic problems built into debt issuance of money, and are looking for ways out. The original purpose of banking (as a profession), is that it is to help people wisely manage and invest with their savings. It is a relatively recent historical addition that banking has become a for-profit business which makes money by issuing money.

Some banks will hopefully be more clever and visionary than others. They will see a wonderful opportunity to create new, useful services in the open currency world. They will return to their original mission statement and become trustworthy again.

Not at all. We work for a fair world in which human rights, transparency and accountability are applied. Rather than fighting against the current order, we prefer to actively search for innovations that work and will thus inspire change. Our deepest hope is that governments and banks will see an opportunity to evolve and do what they are meant for.