Like the economy isn't small enough. Brilliant minds yet limited by the box their professor forces them to be in.
You sound rather unimaginative, not really well qualified to make that sort of comment in the end.
The goal is to show people the ropes of basic e-commerce. Everything starts small. Don't sound as if Stanford shouldn't have courses for basic C++. Like you won't be developing a fully secure and scalable transaction system as a beginner - it's more like a professional project that requires many people, a lot of experience, immense engineering, and knowledge of the real world. Using fiat also creates complications for this online course that's meant for people in and out of Stanford, and certainly in and out of the USA.
I am just saying that it is a course from a top university and it is disappointing. It be better if they actually helped the currency and grow the economy but I guess professors there don't really care about helping us and just getting paid. I went to a top university and this what they do keep a box aroun their students and never let them out.