Crypto-coin hierarchies
Social Contestation in Blockchain Networks
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4263240 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dan Bousfield (0000-0002-9120-9250, Social Science Centre 4164 University of Western Ontario London Ontario Canada N6A 5C2, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 291-307 |
| Publication date | 2019-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Global Networks (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1470-2266 • E-ISSN: 1471-0374 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/glob.12241 |
| OpenAlex | W2946769218 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 30 |
In this article, I discuss the role of crypto-coins (CCs) as an explicit response to the 2008 economic crisis. Drawing on networked social movement theory, I outline the tension between blockchain based currencies promoted as horizontal markets of technological innovation and the persistence of hierarchical authority within these networks. By examining the assumptions about authority and regulation that underpin the creation of CCs I argue that the cryptographic responses to the financial crisis understate the persistence of hierarchies in their claims to upset traditional monetary authority. As global networks, blockchain technology faces political challenges from regulators, hegemonic market actors and adherents devoted to particular CCs. Consequently, I draw parallels between CCs and networked social movements to argue that the emergence and proliferation of 'altcoins' presents a series of political challenges to the framing of CCs as disruptive technology. The innovative character of CCs relies on tacit and explicit assumptions about politics that social movement theory can help to explain. By examining the altcoins through the concepts of resource mobilization, framing and identity formation, I argue that the dynamics of offline social hierarchies persist and are magnified in the world of CCs
Contentious politics · Convertibility · Economic system · Economics · Extraterritoriality · Law and economics · Parallels · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Resource mobilization · Social movement · Sociology · Blockchain Technology Applications and Security · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Engineering · FinTech, Crowdfunding, Digital Finance · Law
Networks and States
Coding Freedom
The sharing economy
Dynamics of Contention
The (A)Political Economy of Bitcoin
Political Theology
Blockchains and Bitcoin
The Spread of TCP/IP
Radical(ly) political economy
When perhaps the real problem is money itself
Bitcoin
The Social Life of Bitcoin
Framing Processes and Social Movements
Resource Mobilization and Social Movements
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,57 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2026 (8) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |