5 Questions to Understand Hard Money – Through a Game

Infinite Money vs. Finite Money

If you’ve ever played Monopoly, you know there’s no end to the money supply. The bank can’t run out of cash, and if it does, you can just scribble IOUs. But what if you played a game where the money was fixed? No extra notes, no IOUs, just a hard limit. That’s where Hodl Up comes in.

We’ll use Hodl Up to explore five simple but important questions about hard money. You don’t need the game to follow along, but if you do have it, that’s even better!  

You can also watch a video on this topic.  

Monopoly vs. Hodl Up

In Monopoly, money is endless. You could theoretically keep creating more notes, but in Hodl Up, there’s a set amount—21 million Bitcoin, represented by 42 pieces, each worth 500,000 Bitcoin. No banker can just add more pieces. It’s a powerful way to show the difference between infinite and scarce money, which is key to understanding hard money. 

Now, let’s dive into those five questions:

 1. How Do We Make Decisions?

Humans are always making decisions to improve their situation. Whether it’s deciding to eat to stay alive or buying a product, our choices are based on how they can make things better for us. In today’s world, our decisions are often driven by what we can afford. Hard money plays a big role in this—when there’s a fixed supply of money, every decision about how to use it becomes more meaningful.

 2. Why Does Scarcity Matter?

Scarcity means something is limited. Imagine air—it’s everywhere, and no one would pay for it... until you’re underwater. Then, air suddenly becomes the most valuable thing in the world. Money works the same way. When something is scarce, its value goes up. Hodl Up teaches this lesson: the fixed number of Bitcoin pieces means everyone has to think carefully about how to use their resources. This mirrors the real-world importance of scarce money.

 3. Is Time Scarce?

Absolutely. We don’t know how much time we have, but we do know it’s limited. In fact, we trade our scarce time for money—whether at work or through other activities. Time and money are interconnected, and how you spend your time (and your money) matters. In Hodl Up, you’ll need to use your time wisely to make the most out of the game, just like in real life.

4. Is Money Scarce?

That depends on the type of money we’re talking about. History shows us that governments have often increased the money supply, reducing the value of each dollar, coin, or note. In Rome, for example, they diluted silver in coins, making them worth less. Today, central banks can print more money whenever they want, which also decreases the value. But hard money, like Bitcoin in Hodl Up, can’t be created on demand. This scarcity protects its value.

5. Why Does Scarcity Matter for Money?

In one word, the answer is human flourishing.  For thousands of years, gold was used as hard money because it was scarce and hard to mine. It couldn’t be created with the stroke of a pen. People trusted it. Today, Bitcoin follows that same idea—there’s only a limited amount, and no one can make more. That’s why Hodl Up simulates hard money so well. There’s a fixed amount, and the game shows how important scarcity is to the value of money.

The Next Time You Play

So the next time you play Monopoly or Hodl Up, think about what those games can teach you about the value of money, scarcity, and decision-making.  Why Is This Important? 

While Hodl Up is a fun family game, it also teaches real-world lessons. Back in the days of the gold standard, nations had limits on how much money they could create because it was tied to physical gold. That’s why we saw incredible technological advances during that time, from railroads to the electric lightbulb. But today, we’re off the gold standard, and governments can print as much money as they need. That’s why understanding the concept of hard money matters more than ever. 

Happy Hodling!