Name: 貨幣的歷史！易貨貿易、法定貨幣和比特幣 (The History of Money: Barter, Fiat and Bitcoin)
Uploaded: 2025-07-28T18:40:07.000Z
Duration: 4 min 16 s

過去簡單式

First, there was barter, a system in which people simply exchanged what they wanted with what they had.

首先是以物易物，在這個系統中，人們只需用自己的東西交換自己想要的東西。

This simple trade of goods led to an immense increase in specialization, economic growth, and wealth.

這種簡單的商品貿易帶來了專業化、經濟增長和財富的巨大增長。

to 不定詞

To find each other and exchange what they had for what they needed, people formed markets.

為了找到彼此，用自己的東西換取所需的東西，人們形成了市場。

To ensure their produce could be trusted, they later invented brands.

為了確保產品值得信賴，他們後來發明了品牌。

Barter is based on a double coincidence of wants, which means that people who wanted each other's stuff also had to find each other.

易貨貿易的基礎是需求的雙重巧合，這意味著想要對方東西的人也必須找到對方。

In a world without forms of telecommunications, this wasn't easy, and as a result they often had to go an extra mile to find their luck.

在一個沒有電信的世界裡，這並不容易，所以他們往往需要多走一英里路才能找到自己的運氣。

Around 3500 years ago, someone came up with the idea to weigh products in the form of rare metals, and gold and silver became a medium of exchange.

大約 3500 年前，有人提出了用稀有金屬稱量產品的想法，於是金銀成為了一種交換媒介。

This was possible because there was a shared belief that gold was as beautiful as it was scarce.

之所以能做到這一點，是因為人們有一個共同的信念：黃金既美麗又稀缺。

Gold allowed us to replace barter and make and sell things, and then save the income of our earning.

黃金使我們能夠以物易物，製作和出售物品，然後將賺取的收入儲蓄起來。

This meant we were able to take the earnings of our work into the future, which led to an immense increase in innovation and specialization.

這意味著我們能夠將工作收益帶入未來，從而大大提高了創新和專業化程度。

Trade exploded, and as a result, a lot of wealth was created.

貿易爆炸式增長，創造了大量財富。

Around a thousand years ago, some smart businessmen realized that trust itself was as good as  In exchange for goods, they simply promised the seller to give them the gold later and handed them a letter of credit instead.

大約一千年前，一些精明的商人意識到，信任本身就像交換貨物一樣好，他們乾脆答應賣方稍後將黃金交給他們，並交給他們一張信用證。

Paper notes had the advantage that they were lighter than gold, and easier to count, store, and protect.

紙幣的優點是比黃金輕，便於清點、儲存和保護。

Rulers and politicians then soon realized that they can issue these notes themselves, and started prohibiting others to do so.

隨後，統治者和政客們很快意識到，他們可以自己發行這些紙幣，並開始禁止其他人這樣做。

To win the trust of their people, they promised to pay back every note with an equivalent amount of gold.

為了贏得人民的信任，他們承諾用等量的黃金償還每張紙幣。

Around a hundred years ago, rulers began craving for more money than they had, and so, they stopped backing it with gold, and just began printing as many notes as they needed.

大約一百年前，統治者開始渴望獲得比他們所擁有的更多的貨幣，所以，他們不再用黃金來支持貨幣，而是開始印製他們所需要的紙幣。

The newly printed money was often given to business owners in the form of cheap loans.

新印的鈔票通常以廉價貸款的形式提供給企業主。

This allowed them to invest, hire, and increase economic activity.

這使他們能夠投資、僱傭和增加經濟活動。

Employees who earned and saved that money realized that while prices of everyday goods went up over time, the buying power of their savings went down.

賺到錢並把錢存起來的員工意識到，隨著時間的推移，日常用品的價格上漲了，而他們儲蓄的購買力卻下降了。

As a result, they often spend their savings fast, further increasing economic activity.

所以他們往往會迅速花光積蓄，進一步增加經濟活動。

But soon, some began to understand that while their incomes remained relatively flat, housing and company stocks kept rising and rising.

但很快，一些人開始明白，雖然他們的收入相對持平，但住房和公司股票卻在不斷上漲。

Inflation of asset prices happened because while there was more and more money, there was still just the same limited amount of land to buy.

資產價格膨脹的原因是，雖然錢越來越多，但可購買的土地數量仍然有限。

Some started to argue that whenever governments print new money, they effectively reduce the savings of the poor and increase the prices of homes usually owned by the rich.

一些人開始爭辯說，每當政府印製新鈔時，都會有效地減少窮人的儲蓄，並提高通常由富人擁有的房屋的價格。

This is one reason people began searching for a new form of money.

這也是人們開始尋找新的貨幣形式的原因之一。

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are the latest form of money.

比特幣等加密貨幣是最新的貨幣形式。

They work just like the others because people can place trust in them.

它們與其他產品一樣有效，因為人們可以信任它們。

Unlike fiat money, bitcoins are created by a decentralized network of mathematical code.

與法定貨幣不同，比特幣是由一個分散的數學代碼網絡創建的。

That means that they can be transferred directly from person to person without the involvement of middlemen, and no one can increase the fixed amount of 21 million bitcoins there are, which is the main reason people trust and save them.

這意味著比特幣可以在人與人之間直接轉移，沒有中間商的參與，也沒有人可以增加比特幣的固定數量，而這正是人們信任和保存比特幣的主要原因。

Will history end here and bitcoin become and remain the last form of money?

歷史是否會就此終結，比特幣是否會成為最後一種貨幣形式？

And if bitcoins disappear again, which form of money can we all agree to trust going forward?

如果比特幣再次消失，我們還能相信哪種貨幣形式？

Before you make your argument, you may want to know that so-called honest or good money usually has five characteristics, scarcity, durability, portability, divisibility, and verifiability.

在你提出你的論點之前，你可能想知道，所謂的誠實或好錢通常有五個特點，即稀缺性、持久性、便攜性、可分割性和可驗證性。

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貨幣的歷史！易貨貿易、法定貨幣和比特幣 (The History of Money: Barter, Fiat and Bitcoin)

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