Open AccessThe (A)Political Economy of Bitcoin
Author(s) -
Vasilis Kostakis,
Chris Giotitsas
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
triplec
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.564
H-Index - 21
ISSN - 1726-670X
DOI - 10.31269/triplec.v12i2.606
Subject(s) - digital currency , capitalism , circulation (fluid dynamics) , currency , politics , digital economy , context (archaeology) , economics , production (economics) , financial crisis , economic system , market economy , political science , monetary economics , keynesian economics , macroeconomics , engineering , paleontology , law , biology , aerospace engineering
The still raging financial crisis of 2007–2008 has enabled the emergence of several alternative practices concerning the production, circulation and use of money. This essay explores the political economy of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Specifically, we examine the context in which this digital currency is emerging as well as its nature, dynamics, advantages, and disadvantages. We conclude that Bitcoin, a truly interesting experiment, exemplifies "distributed capitalism" and should be mostly seen as a technological innovation. Rather than providing pragmatic answers and solutions to the current views on the financial crisis, Bitcoin provides some useful and timely questions about the principles and bases of the dominant political economy.