MONEY: cryptocash is transaction money

[hughes@ah.com (Eric Hughes)]

I've been getting questions about digital money lately which indicate
a basic misunderstanding of its most important feature.  Crypto cash
is a way of moving money, not a way of holding money.

Crypto cash is like a check or a note rather than like the dollar,
franc, or mark.  Crypto cash is a way of increasing one person's
balance and decreasing someone else's balance.  

Since it's not a currency, it's not sensible to talk about its
exchange rates.  Digital money can be denominated in any currency you
like, so long as you have a bank or other financial institution to
handle it for you.

This is only an obvious distinction if you already know it.  "Money"
is such an overloaded word that it's easy to get confused.

If this isn't clear, _please_ let me clarify.  If you don't get this,
none of the rest of the digital money discourse will be
understandable.

Eric