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Money
Money is any object or testable statement generally accepted in a particular country or within a given socio-economic context as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main functions of money are distinguished: medium of exchange, unit of account, hoarding means, compensation (fine) and occasionally also as a unit for deferred payments.
As an economic medium of exchange, money is distinguished from other means of exchange in that it does not immediately pay the reciprocity owed to the exchange partner, but can be used for further exchange transactions on the basis of general and legal recognition.
Although it is often said that money originated as ‘commodity money’, this was preceded by credit systems in which debts were kept on clay tablets, carving sticks or other methods. Coins did not come until around the sixth century BC. in use. Almost all modern money systems are based on fiduciary money. Fiduciary money has no intrinsic utility value as a physical good; it derives its value purely from the confidence that it can be used to buy goods and services. Usually (but not always), this confidence is based on the fact that a government designates this money as legal tender, that is, the money in question is designated within a country as a means of clearing debts. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and complementary money systems such as LETS are an exception to this; bitcoins and LETS fall within the definition of fiduciary money but have not been identified as legal tender by any government.
A country’s money supply consists of currency (banknotes and coins) and transferable money (the balance in directly callable credits in payment and savings accounts). These credits almost always exceed the amount of currency. Transferable money is not tangible and only exists in the form of various bank records. Despite the fact that cashless money is not tangible, it still performs the basic functions of money (as cashless money is generally accepted as a form of payment).