The Waterworks of Money is a collaborative project by artist Carlijn Kingma, journalist Thomas Bollen, and researcher Martijn Jeroen van der Linden. It uses visual art and animation to map the hidden structure of the financial system, depicting it as a network of reservoirs and channels to illustrate how money flows through banks, governments, and households.
The project is based on two years of research, including interviews with over 100 experts from banking, government, and academia. Kingma dedicated more than 2,200 hours to creating the visual landscape. The work explores how monetary systems influence inequality and examines the role of bitcoin as an alternative to traditional financial structures.
The authors highlight that banks create money through lending, a process often misunderstood by the public and even some banking executives. They note that cheap credit has historically fueled asset inflation, benefiting those with existing wealth while increasing inequality. The project also addresses the inherent fragility of the banking system, which relies on public safety nets.
The team discusses bitcoin's evolution from an alternative payment system to an asset class integrated into traditional finance. They compare bitcoin's design to full reserve banking, noting its lack of bank run risk. The project has been presented to various audiences, including attendees at the Bitcoin Amsterdam conference.
