"Berkshares" and it's Parallels to Cryptocurrency
ADSactly Daily
Tuesday July 25th, 2017.
"Berkshares" and Localized Economies
Part 1: An Overview
In Berkshire County, Massachusetts, a localized currency was created on September 29, 2006. The local currency, called "Berkshares” originally started out as a bit of a gimmick but has since seen adoption throughout the county and became a popular medium of exchange by everyday people in Berkshire County as a unique way to transact with the 400 businesses in the county who support the use of currency.
Photo of "Berkshares" being accepted at a local store.
Because of the innovative approach and support from the county, Berkshares has gained international notoriety and has received coverage by several mainstream news networks and journalists. The magic behind Berkshares is that it allows for wealth generated in the country to stay in the county and acted as a deterrent for Berkshire county consumers spend their money elsewhere in America. Although protectionist, the idea has been hailed as innovated by subscribers of both left and right wings schools of thought. This model of economic protection allows for small communities to flourish. It should be noted that a localized currency isn’t without downfalls, though. Because of the protectionist outlook it may affect nearby counties who have not yet adopted such a method of transactions, leading to a drain on nearby communities that relied on outside wealth. Berkshares could has many parallels to cryptocurrency. By allowing economies to have their own currency (or in the world of crypto; token) it can boost these communities, allowing for an almost self sufficient economy, not in need of federal oversight.
A Snippet from Fox Business News Covering Berkshares and interviewing the founder.
Therefore, it is important for all communities, both in the real world and online to take the leap of decentralization together, ensuring no one economy is left behind and ADSactly aims to be at the forefront of this change to a more liberty focused and community centered approach to the economy. In conclusion, a system of localized currency would ensure that money stays in the community.
Thanks for reading,
The ADSactly Team
- Please stay tuned as this is the first in a series I am doing on Berkshares and Localized Economies, which I will release a new article every Tuesday. Please note we are still going to be releasing daily posts on other topics throughout the week.
More information about Berkshares
- Berkshares official website: http://www.berkshares.org/
- Berkshares "Business of the Month": https://theberkshireedge.com/berkshares-business-of-the-month-prairie-whale/
- Investopedia - Berkshares: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/berkshares.asp
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This is a great article. I didn't people could just outright decentralized themselves like this if they wanted to. I guess Sovereign Nations can create their own form of currency and exchange. As long as the currency can't be easily counterfeited I don't see why not. If you have a good exchange program at each store to USD whenever needed. I would love to see something like this really take off where an entire major city takes part. I love how things spin out of control or take off just from a joke. Thanks for sharing and the support. #yunk
This is amazing and novel, and it reminds me of how the troubles in south america have led citizens to crypto currencies to continue to sustain themselves and do basic commerce. Just another example of the alternative to fiat. Very cool peace thanks sharing. Im gonna have to re #Yunk for my crypto fans!
The more I look into this the more that I see the use for crypto currencies. I just recently found out about some of those countries where the banks just completely failed them. Then bitcoin machines started to pop up and it truly helped them get away from their failed government and keep their money safer. Following you two will teach me a lot on here I believe. #yunk
The idea to save the country's wealth from flowing abroad made some good idea.Also yeah berkshares is a new concept but I read something about such campaign somewhere like one of those new trending #Yunk campaigns....that's also amazing!It's one of the top trending tags on steemit and based on a similar target and following .Aimed at taking the leap of decentralization together as you mentioned. #yunk
It starts from decentralizing! That's why no one person is the yunk. The #yunk is all things and everyone! <3
@Yunkzilla we need to make yunkcoin asap. Lol. I think we know a bit about jokes spiralling out of control lol!
The more I learn about decentralizing and major centralize banks I'm surprised this hasn't started sooner. If you think about it through history there's always a group or majority of people who want liberation. I think the birth of cryptocurrency such as bitcoin was just the perfect storm of activist and technology. I'm excited to see where this all goes and to learn more about it. There's people that have been glued to this since it was first a white paper. That's crazy to me that people find something that is nothing to support it until it becomes something more than they could ever have imagines. My favorite word is "L I B E R A T I O N!"
Resteemed
Great idea and great success inspires everyone.
The US government does not care?? Is uncle sam getting his cut? Who prints this fake money? I like how the people came together but just seems like there could be alot of problems with their made up currency. What is it backed by? The US dollar?
The idea of a local currency, such as Berkshares is good, because it prevents draining of local resources and forges community ties. However, as a lay person, I can't help but wonder if we're not going back to the dark ages, by encouraging internal trade, and restricting trade with others. Just sharing my thoughts. :) Look forward to reading more of your posts on crypto.