I've heard of and at times participated in social groups that use an alternative currency to facilitate trade and service among those that might otherwise be unable or unwilling to part with traditional currencies.
For instance, as starving students with a kid, my wife and I joined a babysitting ring that issues a currency called "Baby Bucks" which are exchanged for hours of babysitting time. While theoretically a traditional currency should be able to facilitate the same system, the "fake" currency provides enough of a psychological disconnect that there's babysitting capital flowing freely.
Has anyone else participated in such alternative currency economies that seemed to unlock latent social capital at a scale beyond a couple friends? What made them successful?
Are there already low-barrier-to-entry digital products out there that facilitate a system like this at scale? Crypto-currencies come to mind, but I've found them inaccessible and polarizing.
I spent a couple weekends building a simple web app of what I might want in a product:
https://forward.goldIs there any use for this? Or is our baby bucks experience an anomaly?
