A Message From The Founder: What's a CHIP?

CHIP (noun): A proposed unit for measuring value, designed to be independent of the volatility associated with traditional world currencies.

The CHIP was first suggested in my first book Got Choices as a complementary currency that could be implemented without the need of a central bank, a large corporation or a centralized regulatory authority. The acronym stands for "Credit Hour In Pool" to indicate that a CHIP is meant to be indexed to human productivity.

I later published The MyCHIPs Papers which explores a CHIP-based digital currency in more detail. In that work the CHIP is defined in a very specific way:

A CHIP is:

  • Credit for the value produced by one continuously applied hour of adult human work;
  • in such circumstance where there is neither a shortage nor a surplus of such willing labor available; and
  • where the job can be reasonably understood with only minimal training and orientation; and
  • without considering the added productivity due to the use of labor-saving capital equipment; and
  • where the person performing the work has a normal, or average, functioning mind and body; and
  • can communicate effectively as needed with others in his/her work; and
  • where the task can be reasonably expected to produce a result or product that has value to other people.

Why Does This Matter?

In order to launch a viable digital currency based on CHIPs, someone has to figure out how many dollars, euros, or yen a CHIP is really worth. After all, a CHIP is meant to measure the value of unskilled human labor in a global context — independent of any single nation's currency fluctuations.

This is the central research question of CHIP Central: What would one hour of baseline unskilled labor be worth in a frictionless global market without borders, tariffs, or distortions?

The original econometric study, using panel data from 89 countries over the period 1992–2019, estimated the CHIP value at $2.53 per hour in 2019 dollars. Adjusted for inflation, today's value is approximately $---.

The MyCHIPs Currency

The CHIP is the basis for MyCHIPs, a new kind of digital currency that:

  • Holds a more consistent value over time
  • Is more efficient for consumers
  • Is resistant to corruption and manipulation
  • Is compatible with sound economic principles
  • Is resistant to theft and loss

Check out the full MyCHIPs Papers at gotchoices.org/mychips.

Get Involved

Whether you are an economist, a data scientist, or simply intrigued by the concept, we'd love to hear from you. All research code and data are open source at github.com/gotchoices/chip.

If you're interested in contributing to CHIP valuation research, funding may be available for bona fide participants. Contact us to start a conversation.