The promises and pitfalls of cryptocurrencies and blockchain for marginalized communities

Bibliographic Data

ID20508166
AuthorsDensua Mumford (0000-0002-7443-5694, Leiden University, corresponding author), Michael Sampson (0000-0003-4171-2955, Leiden University), James Shires (0000-0002-7481-4037, European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative)
Year2025
Volume28
Issue11
Pages1979-1996
Publication date2025-08-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInformation Communication & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-118X • E-ISSN: 1468-4462
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1369118x.2024.2391817
OpenAlexW4401772426
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited103

Cryptocurrencies, and the blockchain technology that underlies them, have attracted much attention over the last decade from scholars, tech communities, financial institutions, states and more. The extreme volatility of the cryptocurrency market has made some people very rich and cost others almost everything. Importantly, there are many indications that marginalized communities are especially attracted to this new technology while being more vulnerable to issues such as fraud and exploitation in this field. This paper reviews academic research – predominantly social scientific – on cryptocurrencies and financial blockchain to determine the extent to which they engage with the experiences, agencies, and knowledges of marginalized communities. Overall, the findings show that, bar a few important exceptions that take seriously marginalized communities, academic research has largely focused on traditionally dominant actors such as crypto evangelists, fintech developers, states, and banks. Furthermore, the knowledges of marginalized communities are almost entirely absent while research privileges already dominant theories and research methodologies. Such trends in academic research on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology reproduce existing knowledge hierarchies and lead to the further material marginalization of already vulnerable communities. In light of these findings, we conclude with some recommendations for further research that can challenge these problematic dynamics

Blockchain · Business · Computer security · Cryptocurrency · Internet privacy · Political science · Sociology · Blockchain Technology Applications and Security · Computer Science

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