Abstract
ABSTRACT Russia is a global forerunner in cryptocurrency adoption. This paper explores how cryptocurrency, as a techno-economic actant, informs the way Russians strategize their lives and imagine alternative futures. Based on in-depth interviews with Russian cryptocurrency owners and advocates (N = 21), we show how this new digital asset is tied to specific techno-economic imaginaries, allowing Russians to envision shortcuts out of prolonged crises. By mobilizing concepts from science and technology studies, sociology of crises, and the study of economic valuation, we unpack how cryptocurrency has a performative effect (i.e. acts and makes act) on the way Russians live during crises. The analysis reveals three shortcuts on different social levels. First, on a day-to-day level, cryptocurrency is imagined as a way to hedge against inflation, circumvent payment restrictions, and find alternative sources of income. Second, it acquires political value as it is seen as a means to circumvent state power through self-custody of value and anonymity. Finally, engagement with cryptocurrency fosters a belief in an alternative geofinancial configuration, envisioning the replacement of the US Dollar as the global currency and imagining a post-state tech utopia.
Published Version
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