Using a trust network to create a community currency in Hawaii

This is a guest post by All Infinite first published on Crypto LA..

Aloha! My name is Daniel Levy. My partner, Charlene, and I recently moved to the Puna District on the Big Island of Hawaii. I have been enthusiastically using the website Village.cc to create a trust network for the past few years, and I am looking forward to extending this web throughout my new community here in Hawaii using the new decentralized software at Ripple.com. We had our first meetup on Thursday, March 2014 with plans to meet every other week. Many people have expressed much enthusiasm and we are expect 30+ participants.

This small community seems like the perfect place for a trust-backed cryptocurrency. The people in Puna are very connected, open to new ideas and excited to participate with each other to cultivate a more sustainable, sovereign society. We are ready to use an abundant currency that is controlled by the people.

What is a Trust Network?

A trust network is simply that, a network of people who trust each other. Many of us already have a strong Trust Network, but when that web is clarified and quantified using technology, it opens up a whole world of possibility. By endorsing people you trust, it creates a channel and energy can flow easily back and forth through that channel. As people extend their connections to others, pathways of trust are quickly developed, then the pathways interconnect to create Webs of Trust or a Trust Network.

Why is this Useful?

With a Trust Network, individually-issued IOUs can be exchanged with all members, interchangeably, because all IOUs are trusted. The credits are backed by everyone involved which allows for a mutual credit system with no need for trusted third parties. This hasn’t been possible before and it creates a new realm of possibility for people anywhere there is internet no matter what access to centrally-issued money might exist. Having an abundant money that is intrinsically valuable has the potential to shift the way we, as humans co-exist.

How is this different than the Dollar?

Federal money is also backed by the credit of its users, but, it is issued centrally by governments and banks through loans with interest. This is called usury and before modern times, it was considered a scam and is condemned in religious texts from Buddhism, Hindu, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Did you know that all the federally issued ‘Fiat’ in circulation is out on loan with interest? (source with videos). Obviously, there isn’t enough money for people to pay off their ever-increasing loans and most of it is being hoarded by a wealthy few, making it even harder for people.

From what I have experienced, scarce money motivates people towards competition and fighting over these unobtainable credits. So, the question remains. Why are we still using scarce, third-party IOUs? We don’t have to anymore! We have new technology that allows us to create trust networks.

Life thrives on this planet and people have plenty of services to offer. A trusted community member’s time is an abundant and intrinsically valuable asset. It is time for us to start using an abundant community-backed money and experience what it is like to have a motivation to cooperate with community. Start now, by creating a wallet at Ripple.com and explore the marketplace at Web of trust.

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