Trust Machines: Cryptocurrencies, Blockchains, and Humans in Cultures of Mistrust

Abstract

Network technologies allow individuals to participate in technological market systems that can mediate trust independently from traditional public institutions. This presents a novel idea of governance that is distinct to the one in liberal democracies. I explore the use of cryptocurrencies (digital currencies based on cryptography) in Argentina to shed light on the social dynamics underlying technological market systems that mediate trust. These social dynamics include ideas, perceptions, and emotions, as well as specific practices that determine different relations to traditional institutions. I study how cryptocurrencies and blockchain (decentralized records that rely on cryptography) technologies are understood by Argentine enthusiasts and developers, and how communities of enthusiasts generate adequate social environments for the transmission of information and for emotional support. I highlight the discursive and social aspects of the phenomenon. Based on these findings, I describe the imaginary of participatory institutions (a vision where individuals engage with public institutions providing limited information on a consensual basis) and I describe how a city government in Argentina is interpreting this imaginary.