What is Open Money?
And why has new financial tech become a word salad?
One of the things I hate most about the crypto, blockchain, web3, onchain, whatever space is that things keep changing names. I mean, this first sentence is a prime example of what I’m talking about. I can’t even precisely name the topic that we are about to embark on some incredible journey about.
For some, crypto has too much of a pirate ring to it. It’s cool, but it comes with a lot of baggage. Blockchain, on the other hand, sounds too clinical — like we are gathering around steel tables and bright lights to dissect financial engineering techniques. And web3? It feels synthetic, like compostable plastic — at odds and easily breakable.
And yet, here we are, about to add another term to the lexicon. Not because the existing language is overexposed, but because it lacks precision. Crypto, web3, blockchain — these words carry too much weight from their short but wondrous histories to serve as a foundation for what they’re truly trying to express now.
So let’s talk about Open Money.
Open Money's basic principles
Open Money isn’t just a rebrand. It’s an attempt to center the conversation on what actually matters. Open Money is digital money, but with a twist: it’s built on the principles of permissionless, decentralization, and open access. It’s less about the technology — though the technology is at its core — and more about the ethos.
In the simplest terms, Open Money is a system of value that anyone can use, at any time, anywhere. There are no prerequisites (accept maybe an internet connection or a device to hold a wallet), or a need to get approval, or anything like that. It’s the opposite of closed systems like traditional banking, where gatekeepers control how and when people can access funds.
This kind of open financial system matters. Consider the billions of people locked out of traditional banking due to geography, identity, or income level (sidenote, loss of access to banking is a real problem for everyone). Open Money doesn’t ask for credentials. It only asks for participation.
At its core, Open Money is decentralized. Instead of relying on a single authority like a government or bank, it operates on networks where no one entity has control. This ensures resilience because there is no single point of failure. Code, rather than middlemen, guarantee that agreements and contracts are honored.
Finally, Open Money is about open access. Unlike traditional financial systems where the rules are hidden behind complex legal frameworks and opaque algorithms, Open Money systems are transparent. The rules are embedded in the code, visible for anyone to audit, improve, or build with.
These principles — permissionless, decentralization, and open access — aren’t just lofty ideals. They’re the foundation for a new kind of financial system, one that aligns more closely with the speed and scale of the internet. Imagine a world where sending money is as easy and universal as sending an email or a text message. That’s the promise of Open Money.
Of course, this vision isn’t without challenges. Open Money systems still face scalability issues, regulatory pushback, and a steep learning curve for users. But we are already seeing signs of mass adoption and interesting innovation — all things that we will unpack and exam in the upcoming sections of this project.
At the heart of Open Money is the idea that financial systems should be tools that make it easy for people to build businesses and create value in a way that is digitally native and works across systems, borders, and time zones. Open Money is the basis for a new kind of globalism that will improve the ability for humans to interact, coordinate, and organize.
The shorthand we’ve used — crypto, blockchain, web3 — has done its job in carrying us this far. But the story has grown beyond those terms. Open Money isn’t just a buzzword. Instead it’s a call to focus on what really matters: building a financial system that is as open and accessible.
Recent Open Money project posts
Daniel McGlynn