Money as a Social Fiction in Decentralized Systems

Money looks physical when we hold a banknote, it looks digital when we check a bank balance, and it looks mathematical when it appears inside a blockchain wallet. Yet none of these forms explains the deepest reason why money actually works. A dollar has value because millions of people expect other people to accept it. A bank deposit works because institutions, laws, and payment networks make that expectation credible. Bitcoin works differently, but it still depends on expectations, and users must believe the rules will continue to operate, the network will remain useful, and others will continue treating bitcoin as…