Our purpose
Knowlesta exists to explain the history of money and digital cash. Each essay should leave the reader understanding a period, an idea or a document better than before. Anything that would push a reader towards a financial decision does not belong on the site.
Sources
- Primary sources come first. Laws and charters, treatises, technical papers, mailing-list posts, central bank and regulatory publications, and the text of regulations as published in official journals.
- Scholarship is named. When we rely on a historian’s reading of the evidence, we say whose reading it is and list the book.
- Further reading closes every essay. We link only to publishers of record, academic archives and official websites, never to commercial crypto services.
- Dates are checked twice. Ancient and medieval dates are given as approximate when historians disagree, and we say so.
Quotations
We quote a source directly only when we are certain of the exact wording, and we keep quotations short. Otherwise we paraphrase and make clear that it is our summary. We do not invent quotations, statistics or testimonials.
Writing and review
- Essays are written by the Knowlesta editors in plain English for readers without a specialist background.
- Before publication, every factual statement is checked against the sources listed with the essay.
- Essays are reviewed at least once a year, and sooner when new scholarship or new law makes it necessary. The date of the latest update is shown on each essay.
What we leave out on purpose
No prices or charts, no predictions, no recommendations, no reviews of exchanges, wallets or tokens, no instructions for acquiring crypto-assets and no links to trading platforms. We do not speculate about the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.
Images
Ornaments and diagrams on this site are drawn by us. Some decorative illustrations are made with the help of AI image tools and are checked by a person before publication. They are never presented as historical artefacts or photographs, and they never depict real people.
Independence
We have no affiliate relationships and accept no payment, gifts or sponsorship from crypto companies or financial firms. Advertising of the site itself has no influence on content.
Corrections
If you believe something is wrong, write to info@knowlesta.com with the address of the page and what you think should change, ideally with a source. We read every report. Substantive corrections are made in the text, and the update date on the essay changes.