[Objects] only have value because other people believe in it.
This is a great discussion, Luke. The more I read up on this, and the more videos I watch about it, the more I'm convinced that decentralization is the way to go. It used to be that objects are traded for objects (barter), then it became services traded for objects, then currency was used in place of objects. Now, we're at an era where currency, or at least the current FIAT system, seems antiquated. It's a slow evolution for sure, but I'm happy to see the progress humanity is making in this aspect. It's a great time to live in, and I'm sure that we'll see a major paradigm shift in our lifetime.
I've actually read some different views on this historical change from Matt Ridley (Origin's of Virtue, I think it was) which argued we have always used money whether it was shells, rocks, tally sticks, etc... Money didn't come out of barter. It was used from the beginning. If that's true, it makes a strong case that money is just a ledger and cryptocurrencies are the best ledger technology ever invented.