Bitcoin in International Monetary Relations. New Innovation or Old Imperialism? (PDF)

Diploma Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject Politics - Topic: International relations, grade: Merit, London School of Economics, language: English, abstract: This thesis explores bitcoin, an emerging digital alternative currency and transaction technology, in international monetary relations. Three arguments are made:

Firstly, it is claimed that the evolution of the currency space towards the emergence of digital alternative currencies was a well anticipated phenomenon by the academic literature of International Political Economy. The thesis traces the evolution of international monetary relations back to Friedrich von Hayek's vision of competing private currencies, and particularly to contributions by IPE scholar Benjamin Cohen.

Secondly, centralization is claimed to be the main reason for failures of previous digital currencies while bitcoin's decentralized technology is seen as fulfilling all those long anticipated but never accomplished prerequisites. It is argued that bitcoin is a new innovative transaction technology providing an economic utility for businesses and consumers by reducing transaction costs. The predominantly negative media coverage of bitcoin as a Ponzi scheme or fraud is addressed as a misunderstanding of the necessary prerequisites anticipated in the literature for the evolution of digital currencies.

Finally, bitcoin's transaction technology is looked at from a critical geography perspective emphasizing how it enables capital to flow in currently impenetrable spaces. This dynamic is understood as a continuation of the old imperialist expansion of capital by innovative technological means. In supporting this process, the United States is seen as acting as a hegemony providing a public good by facilitating capital flows.