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In digital we trust: Bitcoin discourse, digital currencies, and decentralized network fetishism

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  • Jon Baldwin

    (London Metropolitan University)

Abstract

This paper outlines how the digital currency and network technology of bitcoin functions and explores the context from which it emerged. Bitcoin was conceived in 2008 as an attempt to alleviate trust in government and banks which was at a low during this period of financial crisis. However, with bitcoin trust does not dissipate, rather it shifts. Trust moves from trust in banks or states to trust in algorithms and encryption software. There is a move from conventional trust in the gold standard—“In Gold We Trust”—to the trust announced on U.S. currency—“In God We Trust”—to trust in software and networks—“In Digital We Trust”. The hyperbole of bitcoin discourse is deemed to be an expression of the Californian Ideology, which itself often conceals a right-wing agenda. The paper analyses the hype behind the celebration of decentralised digital networks. It proposes that a form of network fetishism operates here. The failure of bitcoin as a currency (rather than as a hoarded commodity in an emergent bubble) and as an idea might be attributed to the failure to see how ultra-modern digital networks conceal very traditional consolidation of power and capital. The rise and fall of bitcoin, in terms of its original ambition, serves as a cautionary tale in the digital age—it reveals how ingenious innovations that might challenge power and the consolidation of capital become co-opted and colonised by capital. Finally, the paper offers a discussion of the possible progressive uses of the digital technology bitcoin has facilitated.

Suggested Citation

  • Jon Baldwin, 2018. "In digital we trust: Bitcoin discourse, digital currencies, and decentralized network fetishism," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:4:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-018-0065-0
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-018-0065-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christian Marazzi, 2011. "The Violence of Financial Capitalism," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 1584351020, December.
    2. Sam Dallyn, 2017. "Cryptocurrencies as market singularities: the strange case of Bitcoin," Journal of Cultural Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(5), pages 462-473, September.
    3. Nigel Dodd, 2014. "The Social Life of Money," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10319.
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    Cited by:

    1. Juneman Abraham & Dian Utami Sutiksno & Nuning Kurniasih & Ari Warokka, 2019. "Acceptance and Penetration of Bitcoin: The Role of Psychological Distance and National Culture," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(3), pages 21582440198, July.
    2. Heister, Stanton & Yuthas, Kristi, 2020. "The blockchain and how it can influence conceptions of the self," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    3. Mingbo Zheng & Gen-Fu Feng & Xinxin Zhao & Chun-Ping Chang, 2023. "The transaction behavior of cryptocurrency and electricity consumption," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, December.
    4. Yura Yokoyama, 2023. "From money to culture: The practical indeterminacy of Bitcoin's values and temporalities," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 32-43, January.
    5. Benjamin D. Trump & Emily Wells & Joshua Trump & Igor Linkov, 2018. "Cryptocurrency: governance for what was meant to be ungovernable," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 426-430, September.
    6. Hasan, Amena & Nahar, Kamrun & Akhter, Suraiya, 2024. "Cryptocurrency Scams: A Multi-Pronged Approach to Mitigating Risks Through Regulation, Enforcement, and Consumer Education," MPRA Paper 121215, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 31 Jan 2024.
    7. de Andrés, Pablo & Arroyo, David & Correia, Ricardo & Rezola, Alvaro, 2022. "Challenges of the market for initial coin offerings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Simon Mackenzie, 2022. "Criminology Towards the Metaverse: Cryptocurrency Scams, Grey Economy and the Technosocial," The British Journal of Criminology, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, vol. 62(6), pages 1537-1552.

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