Open AccessWorld monies or money-worlds: A new perspective on cryptocurrencies and their moneyness
Author(s) -
Adam Hayes
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
finance and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2059-5999
DOI - 10.2218/finsoc.v7i2.6629
Subject(s) - cryptocurrency , fiat money , unit of account , digital currency , perspective (graphical) , moneyness , economics , monetary economics , commerce , keynesian economics , currency , computer science , monetary policy , computer security , artificial intelligence
This essay makes the case that current debates about the ‘moneyness’ of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are occurring at the incorrect scale. Rather than being some form of trans-national digital money to be used alongside or compete with national fiat currencies, I argue that, instead, each cryptocurrency represents its own self-contained ‘money-world’. Put differently, a cryptocurrency is the uniquely specified unit of account and medium of exchange within the socio-technical bounds of its own blockchain. This new perspective can open new lines of intellectual dialogue and inform better policy choices for regulating cryptocurrencies.