With the grand congress concluded, Babylon officially moved out of its construction phase and into its development phase.
A model resembling the Bretton Woods system had gradually taken shape, built on the trinity of Titans logistics, Babylon gold coins, and global air transport capabilities.
Several small nations, represented by Dressrosa, had effectively become satellite nations.
Major nations engaged in deep cooperation, represented by Alabasta, were turning into economic dependencies.
Nations bound by concession treaties, represented by Wano Country, had begun showing the first signs of colonization.
But because nothing like this had ever appeared in this world before, even the few people who sensed something was wrong could not put their finger on it.
After all, the Four Emperors planted their flags everywhere and did nothing but collect protection money. Compared with them, Babylon looked positively wholesome.
By now, the market value of Babylon's gold coins, its standard currency, far exceeded their intrinsic metal value, and they were showing signs of becoming a universal currency.
Many kings and nobles even bought them at a premium, sending the market price of the already scarce Babylon gold coins soaring even higher.
Even the value of Extol, the currency circulating between Sky Islands, rose along with them. One Beli had originally exchanged for 10,000 Extol; now it could only buy around 6,000.
In response, after the grand congress, Babylon widely issued a metal currency with an extremely low gold content, assigning it a "small-denomination" value of 10,000 Beli.
Within a week, speculation drove its price up to 30,000 Beli. After that brief inflated peak, it fell back to fluctuate around 13,000.
The reason they had not issued smaller denominations was precisely because they were already treading so close to the Beli's toes. Sephiroth did not want this matter to provoke the World Government