Previously, I made a post about Crowdbucks, but I just had a random (most likely stupid) follow-up thought.

What if the issue isn’t which currency to use — but the assumption that it needs to be “real” currency at all?

What if, instead of money, there was something like FediCoin / FediBucks / credits / points (name doesn’t matter), NOT crypto, and NOT blockchain — more like how platforms such as Wattpad operate?

Or like how carnivals and fairs work: You exchange real money at a booth, and in return you get tokens or fake currency that are only usable inside that ecosystem.

Some comparisons:

Wattpad coins

App “credits” or points

Forum reputation systems with unlocks

Arcade tokens

Fair/carnival tickets

In a Fediverse context, this could hypothetically be used for things like:

Supporting instance costs

Boosting posts or creators (opt-in), which could then potentially be exchanged for real currency (maybe, idk)

Unlocking cosmetic or convenience features

Community rewards instead of ads

Again, not crypto, not speculation, not “number go up.” More like an internal exchange or contribution system that stays inside the Fediverse.

So my questions are:

Is this fundamentally incompatible with Fediverse values, or just unexplored?

Would this be more acceptable than direct monetization or ads?

Could something like this remain optional and non-extractive?

Has anyone already experimented with something similar?

I don’t have the time, energy, or technical knowledge to build something like this — just curious whether this idea is interesting, terrible, or already solved.

Would love to hear thoughts from people more familiar with Fediverse economics and culture.

EDIT:

It gives off Japanese Pachinko vibes.

https://immigrationnewscanada.ca/the-bizarre-world-of-japanese-pachinko-gambling-without-technically-gambling/

https://www.chenlawjournal.org/pachinko/

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[–] Steve 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Whatever the term, if the coins can be exchanged back into a real currency or goods, they have real value, and as such they're as good cash.

Wikipedia:

Pachinko balls won from games cannot be exchanged directly for money in the parlor, nor can they be removed from the premises or exchanged with other parlors. However, they can be legally traded to the parlor for so-called "special prize" tokens (tokushu keihin (特殊景品) [ja]), which can in turn be "sold" for cash to a separate vendor off-premises.

That's still not going to work without either a blockchain or central trusted management org of some kind.