Dutch artist Carlijn Kingma, investigative financial journalist Thomas Bollen, and currency researchers van, der, Linden discussed The Waterworks, of, Money, the hidden structures of the financial system, and the role of Bitcoin in the future of European currencies.
Money determines where we live, what we can afford, and how wealth is accumulated across generations. However, the mechanisms by which money is created and distributed remain largely invisible to the public, despite the consequences of these processes becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. For Dutch artist Carlijn Kingma, investigative financial journalist Thomas Bollen, and currency researchers Martijn Jeroen, van, der, and Linden, this disconnect inspired the project The Waterworks of Money. This project uses illustrations and animations to reveal the hidden structures of the financial system, allowing those who live within it to understand them without simplifying its complexity.
“The Waterworks of Money” depicts the financial system as a vast network composed of reservoirs, channels, and pumps, revealing how funds flow between banks, governments, businesses, and households. Some areas receive ample liquidity, while others remain dry for extended periods. The resulting image is not only a work of art but also an educational tool, as well as a reflection on financial power.
This project stems from two years of research, which included interviews with over 100 experts from banks, governments, academia, and the monetary reform movement. Kingma It took more than 2,200 hours to transform this research into a complex architectural landscape. Bollen Investigative journalism focused on how the financial system operates, while van and der academic research explored money and monetary reform. Together, these individuals helped to construct the economic research and narrative behind the work.
One scenario of this project envisions a future for currency shaped by Bitcoin. As Bitcoin enters traditional finance, an alternative monetary system either challenges the existing financial power structure or is ultimately integrated into it, and the collaborators of the project have already witnessed both scenarios occurring.
On the eve of the Bitcoin Amsterdam event from November 5th to 6th, Bollen will participate in two discussions. I sat down with these three collaborators to discuss how to make money visible, the relationship between the monetary system and inequality, as well as the role of Bitcoin in the future of European finance.
BMAG:“The Waterworks of Money” depicts the financial system as a network composed of reservoirs, pumps, and channels, where some parts of society have ample liquidity, while others remain dry. After two years of research and interviews with financial experts, what surprised you the most? What do you believe is the most fundamental misunderstanding the public has about money?
Thomas Bollen:What surprised me the most was that many people within the system had a very good understanding of their own specialized areas: interest rate derivatives, asset management, or mortgage lending. However, few were able to have an overall perspective of the entire system within which they worked.
Obviously, what people least understand is that when banks make loans, they create new money. They are not merely intermediaries that pass on depositors' funds to others.
But can ordinary people blame them? During the research phase, we interviewed many bankers, and even the CEO of a large bank who didn’t realize that he worked for an institution that creates money.
If we want to improve understanding, we should start with schools and universities. Many textbooks are still teaching incorrectly to this day, and economics education has hardly given it the attention it deserves. In 2022, the Swedish Central Bank’s Economics Prize – which is not actually part of the Nobel Prize – was even awarded to research that described banks as mere intermediaries.
BMAG:One of the core arguments of 《The Waterworks of Money》 is that money does not flow evenly within society. The affordability of housing in Europe and the United States has become a major issue, and the increase in asset prices and financial wealth is also outpacing wage growth. To what extent is this inequality due to the design of the monetary system itself, rather than broader economic forces?
Thomas Bollen:This cannot be measured with an exact number, as there are too many factors at play. However, it is clear that in those years when credit was extremely cheap, the monetary system greatly exacerbated inequality.
In 2019, the founder of hedge fund Bridgewater, Ray Dalio, summarized, "For those with credit, money is free." For those without money or credit, such money is out of reach.
Inexpensive credit for the wealthy and large multinational corporations—whose use of such funds is directed towards stock repurchases and mergers and acquisitions—has driven up stock prices and housing prices. Banks’ creation of money has led to a specific type of inflation: asset inflation. Wealthy families and large multinational corporations that already possess these assets have benefited far more from this than those who do not have such assets, or small businesses that are unable to obtain cheap credit in the same way as their larger competitors.
BMAG:“The Waterworks of Money” is filled with details that help explain how the financial system operates. Which part of the monetary system is the most difficult to describe? Has anything you learned during the research process changed the way you draw diagrams?
Carlijn Kingma:The biggest challenge lies in the way the various parts are connected to each other. How can we clearly demonstrate this connection?
Water is the most obvious metaphor for money, and it can take you a long way. Liquidity, cash flow, depletion of funds: these terms already exist in financial language. It is also very suitable for connecting different parts of a system, because I can draw pipelines and canals that run through them.
But in some cases, if one wants to achieve complete accuracy, more forms of expression are needed. Money comes in many forms: commodity money, public money, private credit money; furthermore, short-term debts and repurchase agreements can also function as money or something akin to money. It is impossible to represent all these different types of “money” within a system.
BMAG:The Waterworks, of, and Money have been exhibited not only among art enthusiasts but also among those interested in economics, including at Bitcoin Amsterdam last year. Have you noticed any differences in the reactions of these audiences to the works? Has this feedback influenced your views on the role of art in explaining complex concepts?
Carlijn Kingma:The reaction depends on how much people already know. Visitors with a better understanding of financial knowledge usually laugh more, as they can understand those little jokes. For example, we changed “Basel III” to “Babel III”, because the bank regulations written after the crisis amounted to roughly the thickness of three Bibles combined.
In the future scenario of Bitcoin that we envision, " The Republic of a Thousand Coins ", we've included many jokes about central bank governors. There, you can see that Alan Greenspan is depicted as a inflatable doll. It would be even funnier if you knew who he is, and the Bitcoin community has a much greater understanding of monetary history than the general public.
Most importantly, we have discovered that art can open doors. This image provides a visual starting point for people to facilitate dialogue. Even without any prior knowledge, this metaphor allows you to see the social consequences of how money flows.
BMAG:Your research examined how financial crises have strengthened the influence of institutions that are considered “too big to fail.” Recently, you have also studied the growing power of asset management companies such as BlackRock and Vanguard. Are we witnessing a real transformation in the way financial power operates, or are the same fundamental issues from since 2008 just taking on different forms?
Martijn Jeroen van der Linden :After the 2008 crisis, mainstream policymakers, think tanks, and many economists generally believed that the banking sector needed to be reformed. In Europe, the influential Delors Group concluded that the causes of the crisis included excessive leverage, complex and opaque securitization, shadow banking risks, as well as fragmented regulation within the EU, and argued that "reform was necessary and urgent." The reform of the banking industry included new, stricter regulations, enhanced coordinated supervision, and new crisis management procedures. However, the underlying infrastructure remained unchanged, which means that no fundamental changes had taken place.
But this architecture remains fragile. Take 2023 as an example. When Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse faced difficulties, the crisis response plans established after 2008 were put aside. U.S. authorities provided guarantees for all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank, including more than 90% of the amount that exceeded the insurance limits. In Switzerland, the state supported Credit Suisse's bailout efforts.
Supporters of banking reforms often claim that they have made the systems safer. However, the inherent vulnerability of using bank deposits, which can be withdrawn at any time, to finance long-term loans remains. Even with all regulations in place, bank runs cannot be prevented, and this very vulnerability is the issue that they refuse to address. The banking system is still able to function only because of a massive public safety net and various privileges granted to banks.
Indeed, large and powerful non-bank institutions have emerged, but they do not play a key role in money and payment systems. This is a crucial distinction between these two sectors.
BMAG:Bitcoin was initially created with the aim of creating a currency that would not be controlled by governments or banks. Today, it is increasingly held by investment funds and traditional financial institutions, including those powerful asset management companies that you have examined in your recent research. Will this integration enhance Bitcoin's ability to transform the financial system, or will it lead to a reversion to the centralization of power that it was originally intended to challenge?
Martijn Jeroen van der Linden :As a financial asset, Bitcoin benefits from investments by traditional financial institutions. However, the increasing use of Bitcoin as an investment product also undermines its promise to serve as an alternative payment system.
At the same time, the rise of Bitcoin and stablecoins is also challenging the payment infrastructure of banks. Banks are now innovating as well: take a look at the payment wallet Wero launched by a group of European banks in 2024. This is a change. However, this is not the same as structural reforms in the monetary system and the banking industry.
BMAG:Your project envisions Bitcoin as an alternative to the existing monetary system. Amsterdam also has a remarkable history of monetary experimentation, ranging from the development of modern financial institutions to the pioneering work in private digital cash done by David Chaum decades ago, which predates Bitcoin. Considering this history, what is your view on the role of Bitcoin in the future of European finance? Has your perspective changed since you started this project?
Thomas Bollen:One aspect of Bitcoin's design that I appreciate is that it resembles a bank with 100% reserve requirements. Bitcoin is not a claim on anything else, therefore there is no risk of a bank run. Bank deposits, on the other hand, are different: they represent a promise that you can withdraw your money at any time, but banks can never fulfill this promise for all customers simultaneously.
We can learn a lot from history. The Amsterdam Exchange Bank, established in 1609, is often regarded as the world's first central bank. It was initially a full-reserve bank: each bank note was backed by coins in the vault. It was not until it began secretly granting more and more loans to the Dutch East India Company that it eventually went bankrupt.
This is the risk of every monetary experiment: it may go in the wrong direction. In the world of cryptography, various companies have begun to imitate banks. They lend out their customers' bitcoins, yet what the customers see in their accounts remains their own balance of coins. The case of Sam Bankman - Fried FTX demonstrates how this approach can get completely out of control.
Thomas Bollen will participate in two panel discussions on Bitcoin Amsterdam's Treasury Stage on November 6, 2026: one is " Europe's Monetary History & Future : Austrian Economics, Banks & Bitcoin " (11:00–11:30 AM), alongside Rahim Taghizadegan and Willem Middelkoop; the other is " Staat vs . de Markt : Hoeveel Overheid Hebben We Nodig in Geld ?" (1:55–2:25 PM), together with Paul Buitink and Simon Lelieveldt.
The complete two-part animated version of “The Waterworks of Money” can be watched at YouTube. You can also support further research for this project by purchasing the limited-edition prints of Carlijn Kingma or making donations at waterworksofmoney.com / buy.
Bitcoin Museum and Art Gallery ( BMAG ) organize international exhibitions, auctions, and artist collaborations to explore Bitcoin and its cultural impact. For more information, please visit museum.b.tc.
Welcome to participate in Bitcoin Amsterdam from November 5th to 6th, 2026. Use the code BA26-BMAG20 when purchasing tickets to enjoy a discount.
Label
- Art
- Bitcoin
- BMAG
- Carlijn Kingma
- Thomas Bollen
