Once, someone asked me what the inhabitants of Minecraft Bedrock do with all those emeralds. Are they constructing a massive underground emerald fortress? Or perhaps an enormous green monument dedicated to peasant rights? No, it’s much simpler than that.
Emeralds serve as currency in Minecraft. They are exchanged for goods and services, essentially functioning like real-world money. Players, villagers, and wandering traders utilize emeralds to indicate the prices of items and services. This is far more convenient than carrying around, say, 28 potatoes or a large quantity of coal. 
Emeralds were introduced to Minecraft in January 2010. After some time, they were renamed diamonds, but this change didn’t have much impact, as players gradually forgot about them due to their lack of necessity. In 2012, the developers decided to implement a trading system within the game and chose rubies as the currency. However, they didn’t last long; just weeks after their introduction, they were replaced by the long-forgotten emeralds. Since then, nothing has changed. Recently, rubies found a new purpose—they now serve as currency in Minecraft Earth.
There are various methods to acquire emeralds. You might want to test your luck by venturing into extreme hills in search of them. However, the likelihood of actually finding emeralds is quite low, so we won’t focus on this approach. Another option is to hunt for emeralds in ruins, needles, villages, shipwrecks, jungles, desert temples, The End, and many other locations.
Centuries ago, people felt the need to trade materials and items—essentially everything that one group possessed but another lacked. To ensure fair exchanges, currency was introduced—specifically grain. The pioneers of this system were the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Grain held immense value, which led to challenges regarding its storage. Special military units were even established to guard this precious commodity in shifts.
Coins replaced grain as a medium of exchange. These coins were minted by the state, which stamped them to verify their value. There were various types with different values, including those made from gold, silver, and copper. This system became a standard and laid the groundwork for banking.
However, coins still fell short of being the perfect currency, leading the Chinese to innovate paper money. Initially, these were receipts for deposits of minted coins, exchanged among wholesalers and valid only in local areas. In the 10th century, the Song dynasty expanded their use and introduced the first government-issued currency. Around the same time, the medieval Islamic world developed numerous modern economic tools—such as loans, checks, savings accounts, exchange rates, and much more.
Currently, the global economic framework is extensive and significantly impacts our daily lives. Most nations have established their own currencies; however, other forms of value such as airline loyalty points, various stocks, and more are also highly regarded.
In recent years, virtual cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have gained traction. It’s still too early to determine whether this system will shape the future of the world economy or if it’s merely a fleeting trend driven by technological advancements. Should they prevail in this competition and become the primary currency, Minecraft Bedrock would need to fundamentally alter its in-game currency. For now, though, all you need are emeralds!
