In these blogs I write about Funny Facts that have something to do with Finance.
Today the story about the similarities of cryptocurrencies and the giant rocks on the isle of Yap.

The isle of Yap

Thousands of years ago the people that were living on the island of Yap in the South Pacific needed a system of commerce. Since there was a lack of materials to create coins they had to find other things that could serve as a currency.
They came up with the idea to carve granite boulders into giant discs which could be up to 12 feet high and weigh over 500 pounds. These granite disks were placed all around the island and were never moved.
The system required that every Yap had to remember who owned which stone. This soom became too complex so the Yapese started to write down who owned which stone. These books were known as ledgers. When the ownership was transferred, the entire community was told to update their ledgers.
This way everyone could own stones without having to keep the stone physically.
By using this system you didn’t have to trust the person you were doing a transaction with. The system also prevented falsely claimed ownership. When there was a discussion on who owned which stone, the community would come together and compare the ledgers.
The Yap actually invented the first distributed ledger, the technology which is used in blockchain as well.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yap#Stone_money
https://rsmus.com/what-we-do/services/blockchain-consulting/featured-topics/blockchain-basics/blockchain-and-the-island-of-yap.html
Image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/stone-zen-white-spa-rock-316227/

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