Digital Media and Society Series

Nancy Baym, Personal Connections in the Digital Age, 2nd edition
Mercedes Bunz and Graham Meikle, The Internet of Things
Jean Burgess and Joshua Green, YouTube, 2nd edition
Mark Deuze, Media Work
Andrew Dubber, Radio in the Digital Age
Quinn DuPont, Cryptocurrencies and Blockchains
Charles Ess, Digital Media Ethics, 2nd edition
Jordan Frith, Smartphones as Locative Media
Alexander Halavais, Search Engine Society, 2nd edition
Martin Hand, Ubiquitous Photography
Robert Hassan, The Information Society
Tim Jordan, Hacking
Graeme Kirkpatrick, Computer Games and the Social Imaginary
Leah A. Lievrouw, Alternative and Activist New Media
Rich Ling and Jonathan Donner, Mobile Communication
Donald Matheson and Stuart Allan, Digital War Reporting
Dhiraj Murthy, Twitter, 2nd edition
Zizi A. Papacharissi, A Private Sphere: Democracy in a Digital Age
Jill Walker Rettberg, Blogging, 2nd edition
Patrik Wikström, The Music Industry, 2nd edition

The right of Quinn DuPont to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2019 by Polity Press

Polity Press
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Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

Polity Press
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Suite 300
Medford, MA 02155, USA

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-2027-5

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: DuPont, Quinn, author.

Title: Cryptocurrencies and blockchains / Quinn DuPont.
Description: Medford, MA : Polity, 2019. | Series: Digital media and society | Includes bibliographical references and index.

The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate.

Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.

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Acknowledgments

This book is truly a collaborative, global effort. While writing it I travelled nearly constantly and met dozens of people who informed my thinking. My greatest intellectual debt goes to Bill Maurer at the University of California, Irvine, who has long supported and encouraged me. Parts of this book were written during a Fellowship at the lovely Leuphana University of Lüneburg, which was both enjoyable and productive thanks to Armin Beverungen, Paula Bialski, Lisa Conrad, and Jorge Oceja. I am also indebted to my European and American colleagues, whom I have had had many valuable conversations with—Mark Coeckelbergh, Wessel Reijers, Gianluca Miscione, Rachel O’Dwyer, Taylor Nelms, Lana Swartz, David Golumbia, and Finn Brunton. My editors at Polity Press, Mary Savigar and Ellen MacDonald-Kramer, moved mountains to bring this book to press so quickly. Similarly, the anonymous reviewers provided expedient, thorough, and insightful feedback. Special thanks to Megan Finn and Katie Shilton for providing me with the institutional support and opportunity to complete this book.

Writing would have been impossible without my friends and family and their unwavering support. Rory, woof. This book is dedicated to Alana Cattapan, my “producer” and wife who made untold sacrifices—putting up with academic wanderlust, often finding me far from home. On more than one occasion I was warned, “If you mention Bitcoin one more time, I’m hanging up on you”—a refrain undoubtedly heard by many others involved in this field, and yet the phone was never put down and encouragement and care were always forthcoming. Thank you. I do not invest in cryptocurrencies. I do, however, buy small amounts of cryptocurrencies for experimentation. I am also an occasional advisor, participant, and employee of cryptocurrency and blockchain companies and projects. My up-to-date financial investment and conflict of interest disclosure is available at iqdupont.com/disclosure.