About how many US businesses were engaged in barter exchange activity around 2010?
Answerabout 450,000 businesses
Barter exchanges remain a niche but persistent part of the small-business economy.
Source: Wikipedia (2010) en.wikipedia.org
Money · Facts & sources
Barter facts & stats
6 sourced facts about bartering and trade exchange, each with the context behind the number. 4 more are in today's round and appear here after it closes.
The basics
Going deeper
About how much global trade volume did organized barter exchanges handle in 2008?
Answerabout $10 billion
Barter exchanges track trades using internal 'trade dollars' instead of cash.
Source: Wikipedia, citing International Reciprocal Trade Association (2008) en.wikipedia.org
In what year was Switzerland's WIR Bank, a barter-currency system for businesses, founded?
Answer1934
WIR Bank was created after the Great Depression left many Swiss businesses short on cash.
Source: Wikipedia (2025) en.wikipedia.org
Expert level
In what year did a US law first require barter exchanges to report trades to the IRS?
Answer1982
The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act brought organized barter under formal tax reporting rules.
Source: Wikipedia (2025) en.wikipedia.org
About how many Argentinians used the barter currency 'Crédito' during the 2001-2003 economic crisis?
Answeran estimated 2.5 million people
During Argentina's economic collapse, barter networks helped people get by without cash.
Source: Wikipedia (2025) en.wikipedia.org
In what year did the National Equitable Labour Exchange, an early organized barter scheme, open in London?
Answer1832
Early 19th-century labor exchanges let workers trade goods valued by the hours of labor they took to make.
Source: Wikipedia (2025) en.wikipedia.org
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