Crypto-Egalitarian Life
Ideational and Materialist Approaches to Bitcoin
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18967904 |
|---|---|
| Authors | M Shapiro (0000-0003-2655-7467, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 62-82 |
| Publication date | 2022-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Analysis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0155-977X • E-ISSN: 1558-5727 |
| Publisher | Berghahn Books (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3167/sa.2022.660304 |
| OpenAlex | W4319309898 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 13 |
In this article I explore the fundamental tension in the world of Bitcoin between ‘maximalists’, who see Bitcoin as a tool for the promotion of a moral revolution, and ‘traders’, who approach Bitcoin pragmatically as a financial tool. Based on ethnography of a crypto gold rush that took place in the Bitcoin Embassy in Tel Aviv, I argue that, despite heuristic distinctions, both of these attitudes advance egalitarian tendencies. While maximalists offer a sense of belonging to a close-knit community of equals, traders promote the nominal equality of all value-making strategies in an open financial environment. I use the terms ‘ideational’ and ‘materialist’ to characterize these two modes of practice, which realize contemporary visions of egalitarian life in different forms
Epistemology · Ethnography · Law and economics · Materialism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Vision · Anthropology · Blockchain Technology Applications and Security · Computer Science · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Law · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |