The whole point of the article was why a "money number" doesn't work. The concept is introduced as a "money number" so the reader can start to reason about how that might work. Then I introduce each problem by relating it to a money number: the concept of logical clocks, then byzantine clocks, then consensus.

The article doesn't really describe bitcoin, it describes the design decisions and thought process that lead up to building something like bitcoin.

Here's a blog post I wrote to describe the basics of how bitcoins work:

http://www.bringhurst.org/2013/04/03/how-does-bitcoin-crypto-work.html

Feedback requested if you have the time.