Currency Design is the intentional creation of exchange systems that embody shared values and reinforce healthy social and ecological relationships. Moving beyond the assumption that money must be scarce, interest-bearing, and controlled by central authorities, currency designers explore complementary currencies, mutual credit systems, time banks, and community exchange networks that strengthen local economies, build social capital, and align economic activity with community wellbeing. This field recognizes that money is not a neutral technology but a designed system that shapes behavior, relationships, and what we collectively value.
The modern complementary currency movement draws from a rich history spanning ancient temple currencies, medieval demurrage money, and the successful local currencies of the Great Depression era. Theoretical foundations come from Silvio Gesell's "natural economic order," Bernard Lietaer's analysis of monetary monocultures, and Thomas Greco's work on mutual credit. Lietaer, in particular, documented how monetary systems lacking diversity create systemic fragility, arguing that complementary currencies function as an "immune system" for economic resilience. His research identified over 5,000 complementary currency systems operating globally.
Contemporary currency design spans multiple typologies: local currencies like BerkShares and Bristol Pound that circulate alongside national money; time banks like hOurworld that value all labor equally; mutual credit systems like Sardex that enable business-to-business exchange without cash; and blockchain-based community currencies that enable programmable, transparent value flows. The field has evolved to include "currency ecosystems" that combine multiple currency types, and sophisticated design frameworks that consider issuance mechanisms, backing, governance, and circulation incentives. Organizations like Grassroots Economics, the Schumacher Center for a New Economics, and academic institutions like the Research Association on Monetary Innovation and Community and Complementary Currency Systems (RAMICS) continue advancing both theory and practice.