The Politics of Cryptography: Bitcoin and the Ordering Machines
DuPont Q (2014) The Politics of Cryptography: Bitcoin and the Ordering Machines. The Journal of Peer Production 1(4): 1–29.
Posted: 6 Feb 2019
Date Written: November 18, 2014
Abstract
This paper explores the cryptographic aspects of Bitcoin. I suggest that cryptography can be reimagined and reconceptualised, putting forth an alternative to the dominant view that cryptography is secrecy. I argue that we can fruitfully view cryptography as a discrete notational system. I describe the specific cryptographic mechanisms as used in Bitcoin, and building on this foundation I offer a description of a full Bitcoin transaction. My method for understanding this technical foundation was to engage in praxis, so I describe the lessons I learned by running a Bitcoin mining machine. In conclusion, by drawing on my reconceptualization of cryptography as a discrete notational system, I suggest that Bitcoin functions as a new weapon in our control society.
Keywords: Politics, Bitcoin
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