Cryptocurrencies and the State: Can They Become Disruptive Enough to Overthrow the Status-Quo?


Published: Aug 31, 2022
Keywords:
Cryptocurrency State Digital Currency Regulation Money Blockchain Disruptive Technology
Erofili Smyrniotaki
Abstract

Cryptocurrencies have grown to be very significant during the past two decades. Starting off at the way cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin, operate, we move forward towards the discussion on their nature as currency and their disruptiveness. We navigate through the political character of Bitcoin over the years, the potential of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to threaten a state’s sovereignty and an overview of state responses to cryptocurrency. Finally, there is a number of speculations and suggestions on how Bitcoin could grow and gain a less controversial position in the global economy.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Research Articles
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Albano, A. (2019, October 29). Autonomous Distributed Networks: The Unfulfilled Libertarian Dream of Breaking Free from Regulations. Retrieved from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3461166
Allen, D. W., Berg, C., & Novak, M. (2018, October). Blockchain: an entangled political economy approach. Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice, 33(2), 105-125. doi: https://doi.org/10.1332/251569118X15282111163993
Allon, F. (2018). Money after Blockchain: Gold, Decentralised Politics and the New Libertarianism. Australian Feminist Studies, 33(96), 223-243.
Ametrano, F. M. (2016, August 13). Hayek Money: the Cryptocurrency Price Stability Solution. Retrieved from SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2425270
Aste, T., Tasca, P., & Di Matteo, T. (2017, September). Blockchain Technologies: The Foreseeable Impact on Society and Industry. Computer, 50(9), 18-28. doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/MC.2017.3571064
Bailey, A. M., Rettler, B., & Warmk, C. (2021). Philosophy, politics, and economics of cryptocurrency I: Money without state. Philosophy Compass. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12785
Barlow, J. P. (1996, February 8). A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace. Retrieved 09 15, 2021, from Electronic Frontier Foundation: https://www.eff.org/cyberspace-independence
Ciepley, D. (2019). The Purpose Debate: Social Good Uprooted. Retrieved from Directors & Boards: https://www.directorsandboards.com/articles/singlepurpose-debate-social-good-uprooted
Clarke, H. (2018, December 05). Money Forks: Crypto-Regulation at the G20. Global Policy. Retrieved from https://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/sites/default/files/Holly%20Clarke%20-%20policy%20brief.pdf
CoinMarketCap (2021). Closing price of BTC in USD. Available at: https://coinmarketcap.com
Davidson, L., & Block, W. E. (2015). Bitcoin, the Regression Theorem, and the Emergence of a New Medium of Exchange. Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, 18(3), 311-338. Retrieved from https://mises.org/library/bitcoin-regression-theorem-and-emergence-new-medium-exchange
Drakopoulos, D., Natalucci, F., & Papageorgiou, E. (2021, October 1). Crypto Boom Poses New Challenges to Financial Stability. Retrieved from IMFBlog: https://blogs.imf.org/2021/10/01/crypto-boom-poses-new-challenges-to-financial-stability/
European Central Bank. (2015, February). Virtual currency schemes – a further analysis. Retrieved from European Central Bank: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/virtualcurrencyschemesen.pdf
European Central Bank. (2021, July 14). Eurosystem launches digital euro project. Retrieved from European Central Bank: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2021/html/ecb.pr210714~d99198ea23.en.html
European Central Bank. (n.d.). A digital euro. Retrieved October 10, 2021, from European Central Bank: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/digital_euro/html/index.en.html
European Political Strategy Centre. (2019, November 21). Rethinking strategic autonomy in the digital age. Retrieved from Publications Office of the European Union: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/889dd7b7-0cde-11ea-8c1f-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-118064052
Financial Action Task Force (n.d.). FATF Members and Observers. Retrieved October 10, 2021. https://www.fatf-gafi.org/about/membersandobservers/
Financial Action Task Force. (2021). Second 12-month Review of the Revised FATF Standards on Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers. Paris, France: FATF. Retrieved from http://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/fatfrecommendations/documents/second-12-month-review-virtual-assets-vasps.html
Freeman Law. (n.d.). Algeria Cryptocurrency Laws. Retrieved October 10, 2021, from Freeman Law: https://freemanlaw.com/cryptocurrency-old-2/algeria/
Freeman Law. (n.d.). Morocco Cryptocurrency Laws. Retrieved October 10, 2021, from Freeman Law: https://freemanlaw.com/cryptocurrency-old-2/morocco/
G7 Panel on Economic Resilience. (2021). Global Economic Resilience: Building Forward Better: The Cornwall Consensus and Policy Recommendations. Retrieved from https://www.g7uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/G7-Economic-Resilience-Panel-Report.pdf
Goldsmith, J. (2020). The IMF Must Develop Best Practices Before Government-Backed Cryptocurrencies Destabilize the International Monetary System. Emory International Law Review, 34(2). Retrieved from https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/eilr/vol34/iss2/3
Golumbia, D. (2015). Bitcoin as Politics: Distributed Right-Wing Extremism. In: Lovink, G., Tkacz, N. & de Vrie, P. (eds). MoneyLab Reader: An Intervention in Digital Economy (10), pp. 117-131. Retrieved from https://networkcultures.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MoneyLab_reader.pdf
Graf, K. S. (2013, November 3). On the Origins of Bitcoin. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://nakamotoinstitute.org/static/docs/origins-of-bitcoin.pdf
Harwick, C. (2016). Cryptocurrency and the Problem of Intermediation. The Independent Review, 20(4), 569-588. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/44000162
Hayek, F. A. (1977/1990). Denationalisation of Money - The Argument Refined (3rd ed.). London: The Institute of Economic Affairs. Retrieved from mises.org/books/denationalisation.pdf
Hütten, M., & Thiemann, M. (2017). Moneys at the Margins – From political experiment to cashless societies. In M. Campbell-Verduyn (Ed.), Bitcoin and Beyond: The Challenges and Opportunities of Blockchains for Global Governance (pp. 25-47). Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from https://hal-sciencespo.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02400464
International Monetary Fund. (2021). The Crypto Ecosystem and Financial Stability Challenges. In Global Financial Stability Report: Covid-19, Crypto, and Climate: Navigating Challenging Transitions. Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/-/media/Files/Publications/GFSR/2021/October/English/ch2.ashx
Iwashita, N. (2020). Bitcoin’s Deviations from Satoshi’s World. In L. Pichl, C. Eom, E. Scalas, & T. Kaizoji (Eds.), Advanced Studies of Financial Technologies and Cryptocurrency Markets (pp. 101-116). Singapore: Springer. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4498-9_6
Kostakis, V., & Giotitsas, C. (2014). The (A)Political Economy of Bitcoin. tripleC, 12(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.31269/triplec.v12i2.606
Lansky, J. (2018, January). Possible State Approaches to Cryptocurrencies. Journal of Systems Integration, 8(1). doi:10.20470/jsi.v9i1.335
Leoni, Z., Groppi, M., & Kamel, A. M. (2021). Cryptocurrencies and State Power: harnessing the benefits of DLT through multilateralism. G20 Insights. Retrieved October 10, 2021, from https://www.g20-insights.org/policy_briefs/cryptocurrencies-and-state-power-harnessing-the-benefits-of-dlt-through-multilateralism/
Malović, M. (2014). Demystifying Bitcoin: Sleight of Hand or Major Global Currency Alternative? Economic Analysis, 47(1-2). Retrieved from https://www.library.ien.bg.ac.rs/index.php/ea/article/view/283/279
Manski, S., & Manski, B. (2018). No Gods, No Masters, No Coders? The Future of Sovereignty in a Blockchain World. Law Critique, 29, 151–162. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10978-018-9225-z
Massumi, B. (2018). 99 Theses on the Revaluation of Value. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Mellor, S. (2021, September 9). Despite El Salvador's bumpy Bitcoin rollout, a queue of countries forge ahead with legalizing crypto. Retrieved from Fortune: https://fortune.com/2021/09/09/el-salvador-bitcoin-rollout-legal-currency-crypto-ukraine/?queryly=related_article
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Cryptocurrency. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved September 10, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cryptocurrency
Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Retrieved from Bitcoin: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
Nakamoto, S. (2009, February 11). Bitcoin open source implementation of P2P currency. Retrieved from P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com/forum/topics/bitcoin-open-source
Ossinger, J. (2021, August 15). Crypto Market Retakes $2 Trillion Market Cap Amid Bitcoin Gains. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-15/crypto-market-retakes-2-trillion-market-cap-amid-bitcoin-gains
Özçelik, E. (2021, September 20). Positioning Cryptocurrencies in the Trend of Deregulation. Retrieved from Academia: https://www.academia.edu/35771434/Positioning_Cryptocurrencies_in_the_Trend_of_Deregulation
Partanen, C. (2018). The viability of cryptocurrency in relation to the response of financial institutions and governments. Retrieved from Theseus: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2018081714555
Pflaum, I., & Hateley, E. (2014). A Bit of a Problem: National and Extraterritorial Regulation of Virtual Currency in the Age of Financial Disintermediation. Georgetown Journal of International Law, 45(4), 1169-1215. Retrieved from https://silo.tips/download/a-bit-of-a-problem-national-and-extraterritorial-regulation-of-virtual-currency#
Pichler, P., & Summer, M. (2018). Digital Money, Cryptocurrencies and Central Banks. In Gnan, E. & Masciandaro, D. (eds). Do We Need Central Bank Digital Currency? Economics, Technology and Institutions (pp. 93-95). Vienna: SUERF/BAFFI CAREFIN Centre Conference. Retrieved from https://www.suerf.org/docx/s_cf0d02ec99e61a64137b8a2c3b03e030_7025_suerf.pdf
Quiroz-Gutierrez, M. (2021, June 25). El Salvador is giving away free Bitcoin to its citizens. Retrieved October 10, 2021, from Fortune: https://fortune.com/2021/06/25/bitcoin-en-el-salvador-free-stimulus-check/
Reiners, L. (2020). Cryptocurrency and the State: An Unholy Alliance. USC Gould School of Law Interdisciplinary Law Journal, 31. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3682724
Seetharaman, A., Saravanan, A., Patwa, N., & Mehta, J. (2017). Impact of Bitcoin as a World Currency. Accounting and Finance Research, 6(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.5430/afr.v6n2p230
Taskinsoy, J. (2018, December). Bitcoin Mania: An End to the US Dollar’s Hegemony or another Cryptocurrency Experiment Destined to Fail? doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3311989
Ulmer, A., & Buitrago, D. (2017, December 3). Enter the 'petro': Venezuela to launch oil-backed cryptocurrency. Retrieved from Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy/enter-the-petro-venezuela-to-launch-oil-backed-cryptocurrency-idUSKBN1DX0SQ
Villarreal Robledo, O. (2016, August). The Ontological Sociology of Cryptocurrency: A Theoretical Exploration of Bitcoin. Retrieved from STARS - Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship at UCF: http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0006412
Vora, G. (2015, July 20). Cryptocurrencies: Are Disruptive Financial Innovations Here? Modern Economy, 6(7), 816-832. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/me.2015.67077
Zarkadakis, G. (2020). The Web of Everything. In Cyber Republic: Reinventing Democracy in the Age of Intelligent Machines (pp. 101-116). MIT Press.
Ziolkowska, K. (2021). Distributing authority – state sovereignty in the age of blockchain. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 35(2), 116-130. doi:10.1080/13600869.2021.1885108