Back in school i learnt that pre-historic* people used to trade 5 chicken for 1 sheep. We used to find it amusing. Until you see that we some 1000s years after are still at it, way more foolish than before.
The Gold Standard was cannon balled into history’s graveyard. The world’s economy was vacillating, hinging on some mere concepts. The introduction of online banking changed people’s notion about money. The internet also changed people’s perception of products.
There is no difference between your in-game credits playing super Mario and the money in your bank balance. The latter is only more tamper proof. Crypto currencies are examples of pure online currencies.
Online currencies and networks is only mere changes in the state of electricity. Now you have products which are entirely virtual. Which are widely used. Domain names for example. In such cases you buy electricity with electricity. Bank notes are not your wealth. It is a representation of your wealth.
We must be really foolish to buy electricity with electricity. But it’s doable if you color it enough. It’s even more awesome if you can buy gold with electricity. Barrels of oil in millions, rockets, billion of hours of labour. And even pay your electricity bill with it.