Decoding Cryptocurrency: A Sociological Perspective on Rigidity in Fluidity

Abstract

In the contemporary landscape of modernity, characterised by the evolving information age, cryptocurrencies have emerged as a decentralised mode of transaction, qualifying to be termed as liquid modernity (Bauman, 2012). The apparent fluidity, flexibility and the unrevealed potentially rigid tendencies inherent in cryptocurrencies; present it as a virgin domain to be researched with sociological perspectives. This paper aims to understand and outline the history of monetary systems starting from the ancient practice of barter to the establishment of national currencies, and up to the recent advent of cryptocurrency, in an evolutionary framework. As the second objective, this paper attempts to delineate the mechanism of construction and the causal explanations for the adoption and diffusion of cryptocurrency from a sociological lens. In view of the factual status of its legitimation and denial by different governing authorities, the third objective of this paper is to explore into the nuances pertaining to trust, governance and dynamics of power relations with a exploratory concern for rigidity within the claimed fluidity of the cryptocurrency and its utilisation. However, we are assuming one conclusion for our study and that is we are going to get stuck with more significant questions rather than the answers for our objectives.