The (A)Political Economy of Bitcoin

Abstract

Abstract:The still raging financial crisis of [2007][2008] has enabled the emergence of several alternative practices concerning the production, circulation, and use of money. This essay explores the political economy of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Specifically, we examine the context in which this digital currency is emerging as well as its nature, dynamics, advantages, and disadvantages. We conclude that Bitcoin, a truly interesting experiment, exemplifies "distributed capitalism" and should be mostly seen as a technological innovation. Rather than providing pragmatic answers and solutions to the current views on the financial crisis, Bitcoin provides some useful and timely questions about the principles and bases of the dominant political economy.

Open and Big Data Management and Innovation

“…In terms of trends, one merchant mentioned that it is a cool thing, especially for early-adopters/techies, but has no effect on revenue or profit, i.e., the bottom line. This statement basically confirms the research of Kostakis and Giotitsas [78]. The merchant also claims it to be somewhat a marketing tool, a thing to arouse interest and stand out from the crowd.…”

Mules, Seals, and Attacking Tools: Analyzing 12 Online Marketplaces

“…Nowadays, Bitcoin is the dominant anonymous online payment system. 6 However, there were only 6.5 million bitcoins in circulation among an estimated 10,000 users as of June 2011, compared to 12.5 million bitcoins and more than 6.5 million users today. 7,8 In our dataset, Bitcoin was mentioned only 43 times in total, and its OAR was significantly lower than average.…”

Intersecting Imaginaries

“…Bitcoin has been described as a techno-utopian project, which advocates erroneously view to be a "horizontal network" that is free of politics, when in fact, it concentrates power in the hands of a few [34,67]. Swartz [110] argues there is not a singular vision of Bitcoin, but rather two main techno-economic imaginaries of Bitcoin: digital metallism (first introduced in [83]) and infrastructural mutualism.…”