000			01655 a2200157 4500
999			_c26096 _d26096
020			_a9781509520244
082			_a332.178 _bDUP-C
100			_a DuPont, Quinn
245			_aCryptocurrencies and blockchains
260			_bPolity Press _c2019 _aUK
300			_avii, 240p.
504			_aInclude Reference and Index
520			_aFrom their shadowy origins in Bitcoin to their use by multinational corporations, cryptocurrencies and blockchains are remaking the rules of digital media and society. Meanwhile, regulators, governments, and the public are trying to make sense of it all. In this accessible book, Quinn DuPont guides readers through the changing face of money to show how blockchain technology underpins new forms of value exchange and social coordination. He introduces cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to readers in terms of their developers and users, investment opportunities and risks, changes to politics and law, social and industrial applications - and what this all means for the new economy. The author argues throughout that, rather than being a technical innovation, cryptocurrencies and blockchains are social technologies enabling developers and users to engage in unprecedented experiments with social and political levers. Cryptocurrencies and Blockchains dispenses with hype and offers sober reflection on this crucial and timely topic. It is essential reading for students and scholars of culture, politics, media, and the economy, as well as anyone who wants to understand, take part in, or change the future of work and society.
650			_aDigital media _vBitcoin _vElectronic funds transfers
942			_2ddc _cBK