Value chains. What is primary in the history of money: debt or exchange

The basis of the study in this article is the Blockchain & Money lecture cycle, which was given in the fall of 2018 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by future SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. This cycle of lectures made us think about modern economic theory, and, in particular, about one of the main questions - the methodological problems of the theory of money and finance: «Did money appear as a result of barter? Or due to the debt accounting system?». In other words, how did the money appear?

The authors argue that the theoretical constructions of scientists should be systematized and combine both historical facts and economic laws, which allows you to revise methodological approaches to the studied issue.