by Jan Michael Carpo, Reporter
I have been noticing a lot of advertisements for blockchain, NFTs, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Cryptographic technologies are now being marketed as a replacement for cash, delivering a fresh new method to purchase art or offering the next big financial opportunity.
Ever heard of buying art with bitcoins and authenticating it with blockchain? How about Axie, the mobile game that lets you enjoy while earning money?
Needless to say, cryptographic technologies have since become a vital component of the metaverse.
Many people find these technologies to be unsafe or misleading. However, there are also ardent users like me who fervently support them.
Hardcore fans contend that cryptocurrency will persuade people to trust technology rather than authority, which they view as intrinsically unreliable. People who adhere to this worldview promote cryptocurrencies while downplaying its risks.
Genuine believers
To better understand what people believe about with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, my friends and I decided to look at nearly three months’ worth of Reddit forum talks.
Unlike technology enthusiasts or crypto marketers, a group of cryptocurrency fans who dubbed themselves “True Bitcoiners” spoke the loudest on the site but avoided discussing technology or their own use of cryptocurrency. They discussed trust and corruption instead.
These cryptocurrency advocates frequently provide examples of what they perceive to be corporate and governmental corruption.
They acknowledge that society depends on institutions like governments and businesses to establish and uphold laws, but they gripe about how citizens are forced to deal with these “corrupt” institutions.
This group contends that corruption is a natural human fault that results in attempts to oppress and harm others.
Promoting an Ideology
As a researcher in social media and cybersecurity, I recently discovered that an ideology about social transformation lies beneath the hoopla.
Ideas on who should and shouldn’t be in positions of authority in society represent an ideology. The idea that individuals must use crypto to change society is a key component of the crypto ideology. The ideology and the technology are intertwined.
For these advocates, promoting cryptocurrency to others goes beyond merely praising the technology. They see purchasing and trading cryptocurrency as a kind of social and political activity. They contend that investing in cryptocurrencies will eradicate corruption and shift society’s trust from governments to technology.
This philosophy, which aspires to replace government with technology, is a more radical form of techno-libertarianism. True Bitcoiners, like techno libertarians, want technology to rule society.
They disdain economic and financial control and extol civil liberty. Furthermore, because advocating cryptocurrency is a component of its philosophy, it is comparable to a religion.
Crypto Risks
Any ideology’s unbalanced emphasis on some risks while minimizing others is a crucial component. Bitcoiners sincerely focus on the issues of corruption in government. However, they minimize the financial dangers of cryptocurrency.
The price of Bitcoin varies greatly, and many people who purchased cryptocurrencies have lost money. Cryptocurrency wallets are attracting people to dive headlong into cryptocurrencies, without paying attention to the dangers.
Crypto enthusiasts frequently minimize the threats that technology poses to individuals and society. They also discount the important work that businesses and governments do to safeguard citizens’ finances, ensure bank accounts, and keep the economy growing.
#CryptoThe potential of cryptocurrencies to affect societal change is also exaggerated. Corporations and governmental control aren’t necessarily eliminated by cryptographic technologies. The government has come up with rules on cryptocurrencies as well as on private, business blockchains.
I believe that simply using technology can not guarantee the societal change that these people seek. What do you think?
