Towards multivalent currencies, bioregional monetary stewardship and a distributed global reserve currency

In Blogs 1–3 of this series we have been exploring the conceptual aspects of an alternative monetary system. In this final blog, we would like to shift gear and channel our thinking into a series of practical next steps.

The blog series is centred on the following enquiries and this reflection aims to address question four:

1. What are the issues that make money (and our dominant monetary systems) so problematic? (Blog 1)
2. Can we use design principles to help us imagine desirable future scenarios? (Blog 2)
3. What could a desirable future scenario actually look like? (Blog 3)
4. What can we start building and testing now to begin scaffolding a parallel system?

Whilst writing this post, we began to feel a niggling sense of doubt. Something about it felt quite anticlimactic. In this initiative we started with a bold vision underpinned by some detailed research of the problem space. Now, as is so often the case we are grappling with the details of how to make things happen on the ground. In the messy reality of managing relationships, roles, time constraints and funding pressures, our suggestions for a way forward seem insubstantial. Rather than trying to pad them out or use technical language to shield the lack of clarity, we have decided to go ahead and share where we actually are, both in our thinking and in our aspiration for this work.

Questions we need to begin working on

We are publishing this Blog at an early stage of our thinking. At this point our ambitions far outweigh our intellectual ability and team capacity. This is overwhelming, exciting and humbling! To break through this paralysis we are sharing some open questions based on our initial internal brainstorming sessions and responses to the previous blogs (credited below). If you have reflections or questions of your own then then we would really welcome comments:

• What would a low tech, minimum viable proof of possibility look like?
• How can we use existing technology meaningfully in different contexts (for example a rural area in the Global South)?¹
• How can we account for different closed loop systems in their own rights without going down the data rabbit hole?
• Can we build on the energy and intelligence of the Geospatial Community to leverage data in a richly contextual yet feasible format?²
• How can we ensure that the idea of a Bioregion doesn’t perpetuate a fractured worldview?
• How do we decide which cycles or measurements are the most important for a region?
• What are we pegging a system’s health against? How can we estimate what the optimal regenerative potential might be?
• What can people do with the individual tokens that they receive? Why would anyone want to take part in a project?
• How will the main RegenCoins be exchanged both within and outside of the region?
• What can we learn from previous attempts to implement local currencies such as those pioneered by the Transition Town Network?³
• How can we make sure that the ability for different people to earn tokens is fair? For example, if somebody lives close to a river it might be easier to demonstrate acts of care than for somebody who lives further away.

Existing technology, tools and research that we can build on

We are both sure (and hugely relieved) that we are far from the first people to explore this subject. Many of the ideas outlined in the previous blogs have been inspired by the work of others, and we will continue to learn and incorporate as many diverse perspectives as possible. As we move towards our first prototype we have identified a number of initiatives that we think will provide invaluable insights:

• Using market based credit platforms as a basis for quantifying living systems: the level of data being collected is already significant. For example the Seed Biocomplexity Index has been developed to link geospatial satellite data with scientific literature. Another example is the Regen Network which describes itself as ‘a platform to originate and invest in high-integrity carbon and biodiversity credits from ecological regeneration projects’. Although we are categorically not looking to price elements of the bioregion, the research underpinning some of the Network’s projects (e.g. pollinator health) could be a powerful learning framework. We are also interested to learn from less established initiatives such as land trust tokens being linked to river basin resilience programmes in South Africa¹.
• Taxes pegged to positive activities: we hope to learn from proposals for tax incentive schemes that are specifically designed to encourage stewardship activities. An example is the Malta Atlantica Restoration Currency that is being proposed in Brazil.
• Universal basic income / services pilots: there are a number of live and closed UBI/S pilots that we are intrigued to learn from. Of particular interest is to try to understand how people’s behaviour and perception of value is affected, when the link between monetary transactions and daily activities is less linear.³
• Statistical forecasting models used in decision making: there is an exciting body of research emerging in the context of applying Bayesian forecasting techniques to environmental modelling. We are imagining that this might link closely to crypto economic research currently being conducted at hubs such as WU Vienna and ETH Zurich⁴. Partnering with an academic centre to bring their research into our prototype will be a priority.
• Relational, flow based technology: the Holochain Community has developed a number of different peer-to-peer tools and resources that have strong value alignment with this proposal. In particular, the hREA value flows specification could provide a scaffold to connect the different activities that we would like to explore.
• Currency and token design: community experts such as Arthur Brock and Grace Rachmany have deep knowledge and experience with alternative currency design. We would aim to consult and build on this expertise rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.
• Thrutopia storytelling: the novelist and podcast host Manda Scott describes Thrutopias as ‘clear, engaging routes through to a world we’d all be proud to bequeath to future generations’. As we strive to test pathways in the present, we do not want to lose touch with the imaginative potential that we started to engage with in Blog 3. Prominent authors such as Kim Stanley Robinson⁵ and Yanis Varoufakis⁶ have explored ideas such as a carbon coin and free PerCap accounts within sci-fi narratives, and we will seek to engage with emerging writing in this field.⁷

A prototype proposition

As an initial call to action, we would like to partner with a community (or a number of communities) to build the foundations for the world’s first decentralised, bioregional bank. To make the project realistic we imagine that the areas involved will need to be small enough to make the data capture manageable. However they will also need to represent a number of different biophysical and social cycles to ensure a meaningful entangled value interaction is captured. It will also be important to engage with a supportive governance and legal environment for some stages of the work, to ground the prototype in the reality of the existing system.

We would invite interested communities and collaborators to self-select as high levels of trust and value alignment will be fundamental pillars of success. We will therefore be circulating these blogs and having conversations with a number of potential demonstrator locations. It feels important to clearly state that we do not have the financial resources at this point to pay people for their help. This is difficult and at times feels uncomfortable; the fear is that we may unwittingly perpetuate extractive behaviour in the pursuit of a regenerative goal. We are trying to balance our commitment to push this thinking forward, with a deep sense of respect for our ecosystem and will continually review the relationship between the two for signs of stress.

Credit: Eunji Kang, Dark Matter Labs

The prototype will be designed as 7 interlinked stages:

1. Value mapping: here we will select a number of elements to visualise. The mix will depend on the location but could include a combination of air and water quality, soil health, biodiversity resilience, equity, care and trust. The mapping is likely to combine geospatial data with interviews, surveys and participatory workshops.
2. Real time sensory data gathering: based on the value mapping we will investigate the best ways of capturing the relational flows that define our selected elements. For some flows, sensors will already be in place whilst for others the process will be participatory.
3. Multivalent currency design and use: once we have an understanding of how value is being both created and eroded in our ecosystem, we will attempt to design self-regulating currencies to represent these multivalent flows.
4. Building a probabilistic model based on data inputs: this stage will combine the data and knowledge gained to simulate how the different elements are impacting on each other. The model will be interactive and infer each forecast from an updated understanding of the underlying systems.
5. Linking the model to governance decisions: this phase will focus on the interaction between the living agents and the value simulation. It will involve using the model to process multiple data inputs to inform a number of decisions. The outputs will be tested with the community to assess how accurately their views and values are being represented.
6. Creating a feedback loop between decisions and currency levels: as the system becomes more refined, the collective decisions can be used to adjust the currency levels of the base elements.
7. Grounding the results in regulatory or policy instruments: we will strive to link the multi-sensory decision making capabilities that have been co-developed with the community, to real world impacts. We hope that this might be achieved by testing a cross boundary tax payable in one (or a blend) of the new currencies. Another idea is to link the currencies to specific policy issues to elevate the agency and collective voice of the community. This second point has a strong link to the work that we have been prototyping in Sweden, Scotland and Canada to create multi-sensory, living indicators.

We don’t know the exact details of how the above will be achieved but we are confident that the collective knowledge and tools are already available. The steps need not be taken consecutively and we imagine that different elements can be worked on across multiple contexts and time frames. A big part of this journey will be connecting people, ideas and technologies to work towards this common goal. If you would like to contribute or be kept up to date on progress then please do get in touch.

Thank you to everyone who has engaged with the project so far — we are honoured to be in community with you.

This blog was written by Emily Harris (emily@darkmatterlabs.org) under Dark Matter’s Next Economics LAB. The next steps will be undertaken as a collaboration between the Next Economics Lab and Radicle Civics.

Shifting from the We of Dark Matter to a more personal angle, I (Emily) would also like to acknowledge that I am probably a long way out of my depth in trying to seed this idea. I am a chartered accountant by background and spent the early part of my career working for Deloitte in corporate finance in the City of London. I am supported by amazing colleagues with diverse skills and backgrounds, but my own understanding of the technological (and other specialist fields) pointed to above is limited. My hope is that I can play a small role in bridging between these different worlds. I’m willing to try because it feels deeply important.

References and credits:

1. Credit: question from Michael Haupt via Medium comments.
2. Credit: suggestion from Linda Stevens via Medium comments.
3. Credit: provocation from Jake Hoban via Medium comments.
4. Credit: thank you Mark Ballandies for the research paper on this topic sent by email.
5. Kim Stanley Robinson, The Ministry For The Future (Chapter 45, 50).
6. Yanis Varoufakis, Another Now: Dispatches from an Alternative Futures (Chapter 6).
7. For example, Paddy Le Flufy who is currently working on several connected ideas including a One Planet Living Token. Paddy le Flufy is the author of Building Tomorrow: Averting Environmental Crisis With a New Economic System.