Major events

1983 > Canada > The first LET Systems (Local Exchange Trading System) is launched by Michael Linton. 30 LETS of them are still operating today.

1994 > Australia > 200 LETS were created; the Blue Mountains, the biggest LETS in the world at that time (1800 members) was one of them.

1994 > France > Creation of the first LETS in Ariège (South of France). There are 350 in 2010.

1996 > Mexico > Luis Lopezllera develops the « tianguis » Tlaloc, market and alternative currencies.

1997 > United States > Creation of the time dollar, the currency which is meant to record, maintain and compensate the transactions allowing neighbors to support each other. The banks of time operate in 26 countries nowadays.

1998 > Brazil > Joaquim Melo creates the first «community bank », by combining microcredit and local currency, namely the Palmas. Today there are 50 in Brazil and 3600 in Venezuela.

2000 > South Korea > Creation of the Hanbat LETS. Since 2000 it had been entailing 2000 transactions each year, i.e. the equivalent of 80 000 Euros.

2002 > Argentina > 6 million individuals (out of a total population of 36 millions) declare that they have participated to barter networks (they have been 10 000 until now). Soon after this peak, the Argentinean network has collapsed.

2003 > South Africa > Launching of the Community Exchange System (CES) in Cape Town, system of social money online, which has spread to other countries in the world as well.

2009 > Uruguay > Implementation of a new system, the el Red de Transacciones C3 (Circuito de Credito Commercial), aiming at facilitating access to credit for very small and micro-enterprises by means of checks of complementary money; the project is sponsored by the United Nations.

2009 > 5000 local currencies are alleged to be used in the world today.