Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion (IMTFI)

10/01/2026

Want to learn about how cryptocurrencies work through an interactive children's book? You can, even if you're an adult, through this latest addition to IMTFI's Money Archive!

by Qikai Zhang, IMTFI Visiting Researcher Welcome to the series: Re-Enlivening the Money Archives! Once upon a time, IMTFI researchers started bringing gifts of money-related artifacts to UC Irvine…

08/31/2026

From the IMTFI Money Archives: Officially issued on February 1, 1923 by the Reichsbank, this 100,000 Mark note was a direct byproduct of the hyperinflationary spiral that consumed the Weimar Republic following World War I.

by Zhou Zhou, PhD candidate, Anthropology, Rice University Welcome to the series: Re-Enlivening the Money Archives! Once upon a time, IMTFI researchers started bringing gifts of money-related artif…

08/17/2026

WHAT is money? According to UC Irvine cultural anthropologist and IMTFI Director Bill Maurer, "Money is far more than a medium of exchange; it is a technology for creating relationships, preserving memory, organizing society, and expressing political authority."

Listen in to what Bill has to say as he sits down with host of the Re-Educated podcast Goutham Yegappan.

Bill Maurer, anthropology and law, sits down with the Re-Educated Podcast on July 6, 2026 to talk about money’s deeper meaning What is money? Most of us think of it simply as something we earn, sav…

08/03/2026

"If a painted dollar can look exactly like a dollar, what makes the real dollar real?" Today in Re-Enlivening the Money Archives, we feature money artist Gayle B. Tate. Anthropologist Fei Yuan explores the story behind 𝘐𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘵 and how Bill Maurer ended up collaborating with the painter.

by Fei Yuan, PhD, University of California, Irvine Welcome to the series: Re-Enlivening the Money Archives! Once upon a time, IMTFI researchers started bringing gifts of money-related artifacts to …

07/14/2026

"Why Should We [ALL] Care about Cash?" IMTFI research administrator Jenny Fan shares reflections from the “Cash in Crisis in Africa” conference on MIASA's Hypotheses Blog. "Cash is universally acceptable, settles without fees and works when all systems go down. It is like the air we breathe – people can easily take it for granted, because it’s just there, working for all of us, all the time."

Photo 1: MIASA “Cash in Crisis” Conference Attendees in Ghana, May 2025. Credit: MIASA _____________ Photo 2: Trust and Money Synthesis Cover. Credit: IMTFI Synthesis, Dalinghaus When you have a money emergency, WHO or WHAT do you turn to, or trust? Do you turn to family? Your community? Savings...

06/23/2026

WELCOME to the first post of the series Re-Enlivening the Money Archives, where we invite visiting and affiliated money scholars to spotlight objects from IMTFI's Money Archive. Today we are featuring photo collage "London Money Shops" by Diane Patrice

by Ziyue Zhou, IMTFI Visiting Researcher and PhD candidate, Sociology, Nanjing University Welcome to the first post of the series: Re-Enlivening the Money Archives! Once upon a time, IMTFI research…

05/21/2026

IMTFI is excited to share some NEW resources with the research community, here are some updates from Director Bill Maurer. The institute remains committed to providing open access, long-term preservation, and dissemination for its research-related outputs from fellows and collaborators.

Greetings, friends of IMTFI! From our trip to the University of Ghana with Vivian Dzokoto for the Cash in Crisis Interdisciplinary Fellow Group at the Merian Institute for Advanced Study in Africa …

05/15/2026

(5/27) 10amPT “Rituals and Gambling in the Sierra Mazateca, Oaxaca” with Marcos García de Teresa (In Spanish) Register for Zoom link: forms.gle/Bk9Y2qkqcBoncSkU8

This talk analyzes two economic and ritual practices in the Sierra Mazateca: gambling during patron saint festivals and the sale of psilocybin mushroom ceremonies to tourists. Although these activities belong to different spheres—one public and competitive, predominantly male and mestizo; the other intimate and spiritual, indigenous and feminized—both involve the management of uncertainty and the social evaluation of participants. In these practices, luck and reputation are put to the test. At the same time, they are morally and legally ambiguous transactions that are sustained by their intertwining with ritual, festive, and religious life.

Seminario Internacional de Antropología del Dinero y la Economía invita a la sesión "Rituales y juegos de dinero en la sierra mazateca (Oaxaca)" con Dr. Marcos García de Teresa, UNAM Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
📅 27 mayo 2026
⏰ 11 horas
YouTube 🎥
Registro 🔗 forms.gle/cTKPbwey9VcxfjFY9

SEMBLANZA: Marcos García de Teresa es doctor en Antropología Social por la EHESS (Francia) y la UAM-Iztapalapa. Su investigación se inscribe en la antropología de la economía, con énfasis en la administración de la casa, las apuestas, el comercio ilícito y la mercantilización de rituales indígenas. Actualmente desarrolla un proyecto posdoctoral sobre la profesionalización temprana de la antropología entre finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX.
RESUMEN: Esta presentación analiza dos prácticas económicas y rituales en la Sierra Mazateca: los juegos de dinero durante las fiestas patronales y la venta de ceremonias con hongos psilocibios a turistas. Aunque estas actividades pertenecen a ámbitos distintos, uno público y agonístico, predominantemente masculino y mestizo; otro íntimo y espiritual, de carácter indígena y feminizado, ambas implican la gestión de la incertidumbre y la evaluación social de los participantes. En estas prácticas se ponen a prueba la suerte y las reputaciones. A la vez, son transacciones moral y legalmente ambiguas que se sostienen en su imbricación con la vida ritual, festiva y religiosa.

05/07/2026

Congratulations to IMTFI Director Bill Maurer for his appointment to the Social Science Research Council Board of Directors!

Bill Maurer, University of California, Irvine anthropology and law professor and social sciences dean, has been named to the Social Science Research Council Board of Directors. The distinguished role puts him in a position - alongside 20 renowned social scientists and leaders from academia, business and the philanthropic sector - to steer the council’s research agenda, focusing on meeting the most pressing challenges facing the social sciences and broader world.

Social Science Research Council University of California University of California, Irvine School of Law Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion (IMTFI)

https://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news/2026/2026-05-07-maurer-appointed-to-social-science-research-council-board-of-directors

pictured: Bill Maurer outside Social Science Tower

04/23/2026

Save-the-Date! May 13th Book Talk On the Semicivilized: Coloniality, Finance, and Embodied Sovereignty in Cairo with Julia Elyachar, Princeton University
Register to receive readings: https://bit.ly/OnTheSemicivilizedBookTalk

https://sites.uci.edu/imtfiblog/2026/04/23/book-talk-5-13-12-130pmpt-on-the-semicivilized-coloniality-finance-and-embodied-sovereignty-in-cairo-with-julia-elyachar-princeton-university/