The textbook · first draft
Money, one page at a time.
A new word every day, myths checked against the record, and chapters that build from the first coins to Bitcoin. Turn the page.
Contents
The chapters
chapter 3 is ready. the rest grow as they're written.
- 1Start here
The Evolution of Money
Barter, shells, gold, paper, and the promises behind them. Start with the timeline below.
- 2Being written
Inflation Is More Than Prices
Where new money comes from and who feels it first.
- 3Read now
The $40 Trillion Question
Deficits, debt, interest, and who pays.
- 4Price chart + trackers
Bitcoin 101
What it is, how it works, and how to hold it safely.
Inflation
A general rise in prices. Each dollar buys a little less than it did before.
From the Inflation series
A Big Mac cost $2.24 in April 2000 and $6.22 in July 2026.
Follow the moneyCPIPurchasing powerM2 money supplyFiat moneyDisinflationCompare: Inflation vs. disinflationCompare: CPI vs. inflationThen vs. now: one Big Mac
See every word in the dictionaryBitcoin is anonymous.
Every transaction is public. Names just aren't attached.
Anyone can read Bitcoin's ledger. Link one address to a person and their history can be traced, which is how U.S. investigators followed the bitcoin stolen in the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
Timeline
How we got here
from the Fed to a Bitcoin reserve, in nine dates.
- 1913December 23
The Federal Reserve is created
President Wilson signs the Federal Reserve Act.
Source: Federal Reserve History - 1933April 5
Americans must turn in their gold
Executive Order 6102 makes most private gold holdings illegal.
Source: Executive Order 6102Follow the moneyGold standard
- 1944July 22
Bretton Woods ties the world to the dollar
Other currencies peg to the dollar; the dollar pegs to gold.
Source: U.S. Office of the HistorianFollow the moneyBretton Woods
- 1971August 15
The gold window closes
Foreign governments can no longer swap dollars for gold.
Source: Federal Reserve HistoryFollow the moneyFiat moneyGold standard
- 2008October 31
The Bitcoin white paper
Satoshi Nakamoto describes cash with no bank in the middle.
Source: Bitcoin white paperFollow the moneyBitcoinWatch: Bitcoin: The End of Money as We Know It
- 2009January 3
Bitcoin's first block
The network starts. The first block quotes a bank-bailout headline.
Source: Genesis block (block 0)Follow the moneyLedger
- 2010May 22
10,000 bitcoin for two pizzas
The first known purchase of goods with bitcoin.
Source: Bitcointalk forumFollow the moneySatoshi
- 2021September 7
El Salvador makes bitcoin legal tender
The first country to do so. Accepting it became optional in 2025.
Source: Bitcoin Law (El Salvador)Follow the moneyReserve Watch: around the world
- 2025March 6
The U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
An executive order keeps seized bitcoin instead of selling it.
Source: The White House, Mar. 6, 2025Follow the moneyReserve Watch: the states