Gold is excellent because it's easy to identify, hard to counterfeit and in pretty much fixed supply. With good engraves and disciplined central bankers, governments can imbue even paper money with similar qualities. As Citicorp's Walter Wriston anticipated years ago, the financial institution that installs electronic networks for accounting will soon discover new opportunities in communications. Thus Merrill Lynch finds itself owner of a major fiber optic network competing with New York Telephone. If banks can become phone companies, phone companies can become banks.
Money is perhaps the oldest medium of systematic communication.
Communication systems are now the newest medium of money. In some respects, the new currencies are much more attractive than the old. Marketing people recognize the peculiar allure tangible rewards sometimes have over cash discounts. But more important, the new electronic currencies are attractive to anyone looking to escape the established guardians of the old coinage. Anyone, that is, who has ever battled a corporate accountant or government bureaucrat, who has ever had to pay tax, share profit, explain costs or justify prices.