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Bitcoin is just the postercurrency for a growingmovement of alternativetenderScott Smith April 10, 2013

The Brixton Pound was launched in 2009 to help boost localtrade, which struggled after the recession. (Getty Images/DanKitwood)

Like the trillion-dollar platinum coin several monthsago, Bitcoin has jumped from a technical curiosity tomainstream financial news. It has become an object ofeconomic escapismbut the kind you cant escape from.Whether it continues to grow as a phenomenon has yetto be seen, but the underlying curiosity tells us thatthere is growing skepticism about global financialsystems long-term viability, and a correlated grassrootsinterest in returning to smaller scale, offline, morelocally-focused systems of exchange.

Economic anthropologist Keith Hart, who gave us thephrase informal sector, maintains that the previouslybold dividing line between legitimate formal

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economies (with their megabanks, registered brokers,middlemen, and recognized currencies) is blurringquickly due to worldwide economic stresses. In a talk lastyear in Barcelona, Hart pointed out that in ailingcountries, such as Spain and Greece, the informalpractices that have been in place all along have re-emerged as a new kind of formal informal market,recognized by many citizens as a valid option for work,earning and exchange. This formal-informal connectionis being accelerated by simple uses of technologysays Ken Banks, founder of a global initiative to promoteeconomic self-sufficiency Means of Exchange. A muchbroader potential user base, with web andmobile access, can coordinate simple economicactivities, such as time banking, bartering, and localeconomic action that brings buyers and sellers, orworkers and employers, together simplymore likeCraigslist, less like Amazon.

Bitcoin may be the digital canary in the coal mine at themoment, seen as a test case for new money by botheconomists and tech enthusiasts, but its not the onlygame in town. At the moment, these simpler systems ofpayment and exchange get far less press and attentionfrom money bloggers, but if were lucky, they willsucceed without this attentionperhaps preciselybecause no one is looking.

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hello, africa.

Physical alternative currencies

While we fret about block chains, and coin mining, newanalog currencies are taking root in the world. Therehave been various alternative currencies kicking arounddeveloped countries like Britain and the US for years, butthe global recession has spurred increased interest insetting up small local systems of payment using moneydesigned around local needs. These range fromthe Brixton Pound, set up in 2009 the South Londonneighborhood that gave it its name, to BavariasChiemgauer, a currency that started in a school and hasspread to wider use, and the Credito, used by theDamanhur eco-community in Northern Italy. Most ofthese currencies light touch technology, (the BrixtonPound does offer a mobile version) but unlike Bitcoin,function physically, putting them in reach of even theunwired, which is critical to making these currenciesaccessible.

None promise to become the euro, nor even replace itsvarious national antecedents. They are designed for andserve local structural interests, mapped closely to theeconomic patterns of its users, rather than a distant

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abstraction. Most authorities, who dont see these localcurrency startups, as a threat, have stayed back, whichencouraged others to try as well. The latest to come ontothe scene is being created by the BilboDiru project, agroup in Spains Basque country, to serve that region.According to a recent interview with the group (Spanish),the currency is so new it doesnt have a name, though apoll has put hazi, seed in Basque, and bertoko,local,in the running.

A better means of exchange

Why is all of this happening now? According to Banks, agrowing number of people worldwide have grown tiredof being burned by globalization and just want to getback to functioning within sustainable local systems.

Because of the way our globalised world works (greatwhen it does, rubbish when it doesnt), hard-workingpeople, and communities, are being destroyed byfinancial meltdown in distant places, Banks wrote me inan email. Globalisation has eroded our incentives, andability, to play well together as local communities,meaning were now less resilient to shocks of all kindsthan we used to be.

Banks, who knows technology from his experiencedesigning FrontlineSMS, a platform that uses mobileshort-message service to enable communityengagement, believes that while projects like Bitcoin areinteresting, they set too high a bar for the averageperson.

Most of the action I see is around software developmentpeople getting excited by local currency platforms, orvirtual currencies, Banks wrote. The problem here isthat these are generally being run by techies, and weneed to lead with the problem were trying to solve, not acool technology. Most of the software being developed isunusable unless you have a degree in computing, or aserver that costs about the same as a small car, and ishard to understand.

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This doesnt mean technology should be thrown outcompletely though, but rather used where appropriate tothe task. For Banks, and a growing cadre of otherslooking at the issue, this means using technology as asimple underlying platform to bring various systemstogether.

In terms of software and tools development, Imfascinated by what we might be able to do if we can builda brand around local economic empowerment thatresonates with a wide range of people, including youngerpeople, Banks said. What we need is a platformyes,Id go that far which can capture the whole range ofbehaviours and activities which make up a better locally-engaged citizen. Right now we dont have that, and itsproblematic, and confusing.

You can follow Scott on Twitter at @changeist. We welcomeyour comments at ideas@qz.com.