Why banking in 19th century America was like crypto today | FT #shorts

In 19th-century America almost anyone could print their own money – and many did. One of the most notable figures to take this up was a man named James Brown, a charismatic conman who built a fortune producing fake banknotes.⁠ ⁠ In this episode of The Story of Money, Stephen Mihm, a professor of history at the University of Georgia, introduces hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth to 'the hardest working man in counterfeiting'. They discuss the parallels between banking in the Wild West and the advent of cryptocurrencies today, and the role trust plays in all financial systems.⁠ #shortfeed #shortsviral #shortsvideo #shortsyoutube #banking #finance #america #crypto #money ► Enjoying FT content? Get a daily slice of the very best FT journalism with FT Edit. Free for 30 days then just £4.99 a month See if you get the FT for free as a student (http://ft.com/schoolsarefree) or start a £1 trial: https://subs.ft.com/spa3_trial?segmentId=3d4ba81b-96bb-cef0-9ece-29efd6ef2132. ► Check out our Community tab for more stories: https://www.youtube.com/@FinancialTimes/community ► Listen to our podcasts: https://www.ft.com/podcasts ► Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/financialtimes ► Follow us on Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@financialtimes