Debt is at the root of money creation in this debt-based monetary system. In fact, as the name suggests, money is debt in this system. Historically, instead of debt as money, there would have been gold or silver. Gold is still somehow linked to the monetary system, albeit in a very small way, as can be seen by the fact that many central banks own gold as part of their reserves. Silver, on the other hand, has been completely eliminated from the monetary system.