Ads for blockchain, NFTs and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin seem to be everywhere. Crypto technologies are being promoted as a replacement for banks; a new way to buy art; the next big investment opportunity, and an essential part of the metaverse.

To many, these technologies are confusing or risky. But enthusiasts ardently promote them.

As a cybersecurity and social media researcher, I’ve found that behind the hype is an ideology about social change: Hardcore enthusiasts argue that crypto will get people to trust in technology rather than government, which they see as inherently untrustworthy. This ideology leads people to encourage its use while downplaying its risks.

The true believers

My colleagues and I studied almost three months of discussions on Reddit forums about cryptocurrencies to try to understand how people talk about crypto and Bitcoin. The loudest voices on the forum were a group of crypto enthusiasts who called themselves “True Bitcoiners.” Unlike technology enthusiasts or crypto marketers, “true bitcoiners” didn’t talk about technology, or about their own use of crypto. Instead, they talked about trust and corruption.

These crypto enthusiasts often cite examples of what they see as government corruption and corporate corruption. They recognize that society depends on governments and corporations setting and enforcing rules, and they complain that people are stuck with these “corrupt” institutions. Corruption, they say, is an inevitable flaw in humanity and leads to trying to control and mistreat others.

The enthusiasts see Bitcoin, blockchain and other crypto technologies as providing an alternative to the corruption. They argue that these new technologies are “trustless” and don’t depend on institutions. You can buy and sell things using bitcoin without checking with a bank or using government-issued cash.

These two beliefs – that governments are corrupt and that crypto avoids that corruption – are common among the crypto enthusiasts we studied. But enthusiasts go one step further. They seek change. They want to change who has power and who doesn’t.

Image Credits:
For some, promoting cryptocurrencies is political activism. Vasil Dimitrov/E+ via Getty Images

Read full story at The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/behind-the-crypto-hype-is-an-ideology-of-social-change-177981