The Internet of Money

by Andreas M. Antonopoulos

Money is a content type, and we just wrenched it free from the medium. The medium has been a series of interconnected networks that segregate money by size and recipient. We have payment networks for small money. We have payment networks for large money. We have payment networks for fast money. We have payment networks for slow money. Payment networks for businesses to pay businesses. Payment networks for governments to pay governments. Payment networks for consumers to pay businesses. Payment networks for consumers to pay consumers. Oh wait, we don’t really have those. We don’t have payment networks for consumers to pay consumers. We don’t have payment networks to do small payments because the traditional medium does not allow that range of expression. I cannot send you 20 cents across the world, from one individual to another individual, because the medium constrains the message. The cost of production does not allow me to express that range of transactional expression.