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I think the burden of proof is going to have to be on you here because I don't think there is any way to bend definitions to make this true. You might be able

I think the burden of proof is going to have to be on you here because I don't think there is any way to bend definitions to make this true. You might be able to say the things you listed are IOUs, but they aren't ledgers, they won't scale and they can't be used without a central authority. There have been a few examples of people creating a centralized currency before bitcoin though. One was liberty dollars which was a single company that printed bills and claimed they could all be exchanged for gold (which was probably true, they went down from the US taking legal action and not any kind of default).

SgtBastard 4y ago
Commenter was replying narrowly to the specific comment about “inventing your own currency” - which is exactly what coupons are, along with Airline loyalty programs’ points/miles and various barter network credits. There absolutely are ledgers behind both loyalty programs and barter networks and in the case of Airline loyalty programs, are literally planet-scale. The only significant “innovation” is the inherently ecologically destructive PoW-based decentralisation.
- CyberDildonics 4y ago
  The case could be made for airline miles but creating a centralized system like that with limited utility is not something everyone could do, because its utility isn't universal. Also can airline miles be sent and received to and from arbitrary people? Can they be exchanged for cash or bought?
  - SgtBastard 4y ago
    >Also can airline miles be sent and received to and from arbitrary people? Yes. >Can they be exchanged for cash Normally not directly because then the programs have to handle AML/CTF obligations, but almost always Dollar-denominated gift cards. > or bought? Yes.
WalterBright 4y ago
You might be not aware of the fact that under free banking in America, banks issued their own currency. In fact, they did that long before governments began doing it. Here's yet another example: American Express Travelers Cheques https://www.americanexpress.com/us/travel/travelers-cheques/ https://www.americanexpress.com/us/travel/travelers-cheques/ S&H Green Stamps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26H_Green_Stamps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26H_Green_Stamps Local Currencies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_community_currencies_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_community_currencies_i...
- CyberDildonics 4y ago
  I don't think american express travelers cheques are their own currency, but the bills banks originally created definitely are. It is obviously possible for a large organization and I had another example in my other comment, but I don't think these are feasible for an individual. I didn't know about all the community currencies though.
  - WalterBright 4y ago
    The travelers cheques are money. An individual can create their own money, too. You can write a check on any piece of paper (it doesn't have to be bank paper) and give it to anyone who'll accept it. The bank will honor it. A thief stole money from me that way - the bank accepted his check. An IOU is money. It is not legal tender, though, which is perhaps what you're thinking about.
    - CyberDildonics 4y ago
      You can call something money without it being its own currency. IOUs are denominated in some other fundamental unit.

SgtBastard 4y ago

Commenter was replying narrowly to the specific comment about “inventing your own currency” - which is exactly what coupons are, along with Airline loyalty programs’ points/miles and various barter network credits. There absolutely are ledgers behind both loyalty programs and barter networks and in the case of Airline loyalty programs, are literally planet-scale. The only significant “innovation” is the inherently ecologically destructive PoW-based decentralisation.

CyberDildonics 4y ago
The case could be made for airline miles but creating a centralized system like that with limited utility is not something everyone could do, because its utility isn't universal. Also can airline miles be sent and received to and from arbitrary people? Can they be exchanged for cash or bought?
- SgtBastard 4y ago
  >Also can airline miles be sent and received to and from arbitrary people? Yes. >Can they be exchanged for cash Normally not directly because then the programs have to handle AML/CTF obligations, but almost always Dollar-denominated gift cards. > or bought? Yes.

WalterBright 4y ago

You might be not aware of the fact that under free banking in America, banks issued their own currency. In fact, they did that long before governments began doing it. Here's yet another example: American Express Travelers Cheques https://www.americanexpress.com/us/travel/travelers-cheques/ https://www.americanexpress.com/us/travel/travelers-cheques/ S&H Green Stamps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26H_Green_Stamps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26H_Green_Stamps Local Currencies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_community_currencies_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_community_currencies_i...

CyberDildonics 4y ago
I don't think american express travelers cheques are their own currency, but the bills banks originally created definitely are. It is obviously possible for a large organization and I had another example in my other comment, but I don't think these are feasible for an individual. I didn't know about all the community currencies though.
- WalterBright 4y ago
  The travelers cheques are money. An individual can create their own money, too. You can write a check on any piece of paper (it doesn't have to be bank paper) and give it to anyone who'll accept it. The bank will honor it. A thief stole money from me that way - the bank accepted his check. An IOU is money. It is not legal tender, though, which is perhaps what you're thinking about.
  - CyberDildonics 4y ago
    You can call something money without it being its own currency. IOUs are denominated in some other fundamental unit.