Something that is worth something but is not money yet — a bond, a bar of silver, a room full of people watching a video — and a hand that completes the last step, so that now it is money.
From French monétiser, from Latin monēta (coin, mint) plus a suffix meaning to make into. The literal reading — make it into money — still describes every use.
來自法文 monétiser，字根是拉丁文 monēta（錢幣、鑄幣廠），加上表示「使變成」的字尾。字面的「使變成錢」到今天仍然說得通。
Wiktionary extract supplied in packet (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1445359492), monetize (verb): "From French monétiser From Latin monēta (whence monnaie) + -iser."
Two branches
把值錢的東西換成錢（金融、官方）
這一組最靠近字根：動作的對象是實際的財產或金屬，做的人多半是政府或央行。
verb · C1
To turn government bonds or debts into money, which is what a central bank does when it buys them and puts new money into the economy; more widely, to turn something you hold into cash.
貨幣化；變現
把人氣換成收入（網路）
同一個動作換了對象：這次值錢但還不是錢的，是「有人在看」這件事。所以受詞變成頻道、網站、app、粉絲。
verb · B2
To make money out of something people use or watch online — a website, a video channel, an app, a following — usually by running ads on it, or by getting the people who come to pay or buy.
變現；靠…賺錢