Money as Credit
This book reveals how trust is transformed into money—and how technology makes that transformation possible. Tracing the evolution of credit from ancient debt records to blockchain-based digital currencies, it presents a new framework for understanding monetary history as a continuous process of scaling trust across increasingly complex societies.
Rather than viewing money solely as a financial or economic phenomenon, the book demonstrates how innovations in record-keeping, calculation, communication, and information processing have repeatedly enabled new forms of credit and exchange to emerge. From clay tablets and bills of exchange to electronic payments, cryptographic networks, and AI-driven finance, technological advances have reshaped the institutions that support trust and monetary cooperation.
Combining insights from economic history, monetary theory, and financial technology, this accessible and thought-provoking volume offers readers a deeper understanding of how money has evolved—and how emerging technologies may shape its future. It is essential reading for students, researchers, policymakers, and anyone interested in the changing nature of money and trust.
LI Rui is an Assistant Research Fellow at the Financial Research Institute, People's Bank of China. She received her Bachelor's degree from Peking University, Master's degree from the University of Maryland, and Ph.D. from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Her research examines how technology is reshaping money, with particular expertise in digital currencies—from their theoretical underpinnings to real-world implementation. Several of her internal research reports have informed policy considerations at senior levels of government. Her background combines rigorous monetary economics with public engagement, enabling her to bridge academic research, policy analysis, and broader public understanding of money in the digital age.
BAI Zhan, Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics, is an Associate Research Professor at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Peking University, and conducted postdoctoral research at Peking University and the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research spans quantum chromodynamics, QCD phase transitions, high-energy-density equations of state, neutron-star structure, gravitational-wave signals, and laser–dark-matter interactions. He has led and participated in projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has published first-author research papers in international SCI journals including Physical Review D, The European Physical Journal C, and The Astrophysical Journal. He is also an active science writer, contributing to outlets such as Chinese Journal of Nature. His accessible explanations of complex physics have garnered a substantial following across Chinese social media platforms. His background combines frontier theoretical physics with science communication, enabling him to connect rigorous scientific ideas with broader questions about technology, trust, and money.