sarah jeong

Sure, Bitcoin is by the privileged and for the privileged. So is sovereign currency. That’s kind of how money and privilege work $$$$$$$$$$$

But not all payment systems are made the same. Some are more oriented towards privileged users than others (see, e.g., banks versus hawala).

Bitcoin attempts to circumvent an existing power hierarchy re: money.

…it’s not doing a good job of it, but it’s not exactly an attempt to shore up existing privilege.

Privilege is hard to beat. Privilege doesn’t need cryptography to save itself.

I *will* say that it’s interesting that the distribution of currency (via mining) is rooted in an expensive capital investment (computer).

But lulz, like sovereign currency never tends to accumulate in the hands of those who already have plenty of it.