Is Bitcoin Trustworthy?

Abstract

Using a recent philosophical account of trustworthiness, the author evaluates whether Bitcoin can be considered trustworthy in each of its three most common uses: as a medium of exchange, as a store of value, and as a speculative investment. Primarily because the entity that controls Bitcoin, its community of users, does not take actions to stabilize and secure the cryptocurrency – that is, in the manner that nations’ monetary policies can stabilize and secure national currencies – the author evaluates Bitcoin as untrustworthy. The author then offer an argument that its untrustworthiness undermines Bitcoin’s ability to serve both as medium of exchange and as store of value. Bitcoin’s untrustworthiness does not, however, undermine its usefulness as a speculative investment. Finally, the author discuss the extent to which – and how – other cryptocurrencies can avoid the evaluation that they are untrustworthy.