Trust Printed in Darkness--Fake Money and Anonymous Market Spectacle (2013-2020s)

Trust Printed in Darkness--Fake Money and Anonymous Market Spectacle (2013-2020s)

The Dark Web. It is a dark passage, far from the gaze of the state, where the symbol of the state, currency, is traded as if it were just a piece of paper. In particular, in 2013, counterfeit euros and dollars were circulating as "commodities" in a marketplace that was widely used among anonymous communication networks. Bills were sold at less than half the price of their legitimate counterparts, for example, a counterfeit bill for 2,500 euros was available for only 500 euros, and 6,000 euros for 1,900 euros. Similarly, U.S. currency was traded at "discount" prices: $600 for $2,500 worth of counterfeit bills, and $2,000 for $5,000. Payments were made in virtual currency, and transactions were conducted anonymously. It was like another small economic zone that mimicked the national system.

Counterfeit money was quietly seeping into the real world. In the United States, a few counterfeit bills were used in fast food restaurants and vending machines as a means of getting change. In European tourist destinations, bars, street vendors, and other places where the cash-based system persists were targeted. In Asia, counterfeit bills were handed over in crowded markets and tourist attractions, where they were often disguised as the real thing, and travelers' ignorance led them to use them as a "means of exchange. Repeatedly used in small denominations, the counterfeit bills were inconspicuous, but they surely lost their "value.

In 2017, a young man in Germany was caught using high-precision printing equipment to manufacture counterfeit euro bills and sell them on the Internet. In the U.S., in 2020, users of a website selling counterfeit bills were arrested in a chain of arrests in several states. In Japan, the Kanto Shinetsu customs office detected several signs of counterfeit currency hidden inside envelopes sent by international mail. Inside the envelopes lurked "paper" that resembled, but had a different texture than, the bills that were supposed to be issued by the state.

The distribution of counterfeit bills involves a small logistical path from production to delivery. Eastern European countries with superior printing technology become the center of production, and sales take place in a market on an anonymous communication network. Payment is made in virtual currency, and the counterfeit bills are sent mixed in with everyday items. Many of the buyers intended to use them for everyday payments. Some fulfilled their redemption by obtaining change, while others used it as a protest against society.

The underground market has its own name. In English-speaking countries, it was called "funny money," and some called it "Gutenberg's printed matter. It was ironically named in honor of the father of modern printing. Imitations of currency had value as tools and were referred to as "black paper" in the underworld. The envelopes sometimes contained instructions for use along with the counterfeit bills, and were now little more than "black product packages.

The anonymity of the network has nurtured the shadow of the economy while escaping the scrutiny of the state. But the anonymity makes it difficult to establish trust in transactions. Banknotes without trust. The "shadow of trust" circulating on the other side of trust. While new currencies, such as virtual currencies, are spreading, people still cling to the weight of paper. The numbers and portraits engraved on paper are no longer the will of the state, but are printed and sent out by the fingers of an anonymous person.

What is currency? Darkness quietly answers this question. Paper does not have value. As long as there are eyes that believe in value, even false paper money moves the world.