Troquant

Troquant is a coined term that appears in some theoretical discussions of value transfer within barter-inspired and digital exchange models. There is no universally accepted definition or real-world use, and the term is mainly encountered in thought experiments, niche papers, and online discussions. The etymology is not standardized; one common interpretation treats troquant as a blend of words related to bartering (troquer) and quantity (quantité or quantity), while others view it as a neutral placeholder with no specific origin.

In theory, a troquant is a hypothetical unit of account or value used to measure economic transactions or value flows within a model. It is not tied to a fiat currency, commodity, or cryptocurrency in any universal sense. In this usage, troquants can be subdivided into smaller units to enable fine-grained accounting, and its rules for divisibility and exchange rates are set by the model rather than market prices.

Troquant concepts are sometimes employed to compare the efficiency, fairness, or resilience of different exchange protocols, payment networks, or governance schemes. Critics note that because troquant has no real-world anchor, results can be sensitive to the chosen definitions of scarcity, divisibility, and exchange rules within the model.

Notes: The term remains largely informal and context-dependent, with no standard technical specification or regulatory status. See also unit of account, currency, token, and economic model discussions for related ideas.