Abstract
The sharing economy encourages trusted person-to-person commercial transactions comparable to the exchange of goods for cash, but enabled by cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, now moving into the tribal world of virtual environments. I adopt a phenomenological posture towards such emerging practices, investigating how innovations built on the idea of the “blockchain” are grounded in the gift society. Phenomenological insights and metaphors can inform our understanding of the apparent costliness and extravagance of platforms supporting cryptocurrencies and the consumerist excesses of virtual environments.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Phenomenology of Real and Virtual Places |
| Editors | Erik Champion |
| Place of Publication | Abingdon; New York |
| Publisher | Routledge |
| Chapter | 6 |
| Pages | 76-93 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781138094079 |
| Publication status | Published - 6 Nov 2018 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- phenomenology
- virtual reality
- blockchain
- ARCHITECTURE
