A closer look
Long before central banks monopolized the money printer, Benjamin Franklin set up a paper money scheme in colonial Pennsylvania that actually worked. Instead of backing cash with shiny rocks, the colonial government issued paper currency backed by the real estate of its citizens. If you wanted cash, you took out a mortgage on your farm from the government, and they printed fresh bills for you. It was essentially land-backed fiat. Franklin even designed intricate leaf prints on the back of the bills to thwart counterfeiters, proving the Founding Fathers were hustling decentralized finance long before crypto existed.
