This seems related to David Graeber's idea that money was originally a moral instrument more associated with temples, than a purely secular phenomenon emerging

This seems related to David Graeber's idea that money was originally a moral instrument more associated with temples, than a purely secular phenomenon emerging from trade. To have-been-wronged becomes a fact of accounting. I think of -- -- sacrifices that people make. Mortifications of the flesh and so on. "Wrong yourself so the universe owes you something." -- blood money paid in the Islamic and old Germanic worlds. -- a brokerage account, with assets and liabilities. -- how much of the New Testament is full of financial metaphors. The rich man accumulates his fortune on earth, but the righteous man accumulates his fortune in heaven. But then I also think of -- central bankers, who magic money into existence -- Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the rest. Which brings me back to the observation -- -- Bitcoin is structured like a cult, in which you make a sacrifice to join (exchanging money for it, or wasting electricity), after which you then have an incentive for membership in the tribe (ownership of Bitcoin) to confer benefits (i.e., for the price to appreciate faster than other assets). You really want to be able to say "to hell with it" and escape the game. To stop accumulating karma and live perched up on a cliff face.