If you have enough to live comfortably, then money is just a game. A game with real life consequences.

Money is arguably civilization’s greatest invention. Money enables the exchange of value for a common unit, and the easy setting of prices. If the price of three bushels of wheat is one barrel of ale and all you have is five bags of potatoes, then trading can be tricky. Money lubricates the process and makes the market work efficiently. Prices can vary with supply and demand.

Back in the day, money was based on valuable commodities like gold and silver, but soon became based on trusted information, like banknotes or entries in a ledger. Ultimately money became purely digital data, like hash codes in a crypto wallet or numbers in a smartphone app. Advanced technologies made money more accessible, more liquid, and more convenient than ever, but also introduced new risks and complexity. Tech like De-Fi has changed the rules of the game.

For business to flourish and markets to thrive, you need more than money, you also need investment. Even workers have pension funds, which are collective investments, so we’re all investors now. With globalization and international trade, capital and finance need to cross borders as easily as goods and services – more complexity and risk. And don’t ignore trade imbalances, taxes, and tariffs. It’s war, but it’s still just information.

The most powerful country in the world isn’t the one with the biggest army, it’s the one with the most money.

Countries, companies, and citizens all play the money game. The global financial system – the big money game – has become so complex, we’ve outsourced it to smart machines, what some money hacks call AI-Fi. Nobody truly understands how it works – it just works. As long as I have access to the internet, I know what my wealth is worth. But if you’re marooned on a desert island without Starlink, your financial assets are worthless. We have to trust the AI, because what other option is there?

Don’t be misled, you still have to make tough choices. Money is a harsh mistress. You have to add value and produce more than you consume, if you want to accumulate wealth. But at the end of the day, money is just a game. Without rules. How you play it is up to you.

Are you ready to play?