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what is a fiat currency? are there other types of currency?
user
fiat in latin means "let it be" or "let it happen" - as in "fiat lux!" meaning "let there be light!". thus, fiat money means money that are created by the government decree - they would be random worthless pieces of paper otherwise, so the government says "let this paper be worth $100" and it becomes $100. non-fiat money have some value that is beyond declaration - e.g., gold coin has the value of gold that is made of. since 1971, almost all world currencies are fiat money.
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