June 2024 Xarslasja Recession

On June 10th, 2024, the Great Desert Bank of Xarslasja fell into insolvency and the entire national vault of the Bezuvate of Xarslasja was spent.

Elisa of Fishland attempted to exchange 32 stacks of Gold Blocks for 100 slabs. This requested value vastly outnumbered the total value of the national vault of Xarslasja, which was valued at one Slab. The one slab was paid out and the remaining stacks of gold blocks were returned to Elisa. Prior to this, no transaction at the Bank had exceeded values measurable in Slablets, so no system of transaction size limits or bank loans had been established. With no money remaining in the national vault, the Bank instantly became insolvent.

The Bezuv had the doors of the bank and the Xarslasja Exchange Rate Commission sealed shut and all further transactions postponed until enough resources had been extracted to reestablish a valid national vault. The Bezuv of Xarslasja, Agma Schwa, made an official declaration that construction projects, including the construction of the gawdy Copper Palace of Arcosanti, would be halted until significant mineral wealth had been collected and converted to liquid Slab value for the national vault.

The closure of the bank led to significant political unrest in Xarslasja, especially among the residents of Quartzsite who form the agricultural backbone of the nation. The rapid economic growth before the Bank's collapse, paired with the extremely high deficit from vast construction projects, instantly brought the economy into a Recession.

After focusing the economy on mining, Elisa of Fishland was remunerated fully on June 19th without any interest charged. The economy was still in shambles, however, and the bank remained closed for another month while the situation stabilized.

Finally, on July 14th, 2024, the bank and the Exchange Rate Commission were quietly reopened with amended rules.

The economy still remained in relatively poor condition, leading to significant political dissent, especially in Quartzsite. That being said, significant mineral resources were used in the construction of the Nogales-Arcosanti Line which was received with widespread popular support given the recent annexation of Flagstaff.