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Cited by 21Blockchain Technology Applications and SecurityHousing, Finance, and NeoliberalismUrban Planning and Governance

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 44 of the 44 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Crypto/space: computational parasitism, virtual land grabs, and the production of Web3 ‘exit zones

Open access
Howson, Peter, Rosales, Antulio, Jutel, Olivier, Gloerich, Inte, Llorens, Mariel García, de Vries, Alex, Crandall, Jillian, Dolan, Paul·2024·Political Geography
DOI 10.1016/j.polgeo.2024.103210
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Abstract

This paper explores how so-called ‘Web3’ blockchain projects are materially and socially constituted. A blockchain is an append-only distributed database. The technology is being hyped as applicable for a whole range of industries, social service provisions, and as a fix for economic disparities in communities left behind by mainstream financial systems. Drawing on case studies from our ongoing research we explain how, despite being virtual, Web3 projects are dependent on clearly defined spaces of production from which they derive their speculative value. We conceptualise this relationship as Crypto/Space, where space and blockchain software are mutually constituted. We consider how Crypto/Spaces are produced in three ways: 1) how project developers are adopting a parasitic relationship with host locations to appropriate energy, infrastructure, and local resources; 2) how projects enable ‘virtual land grabs’ where developers are engaging in land acquisitions, and associated displacement of local people, with no real intention to use the land for the declared purpose; and 3) how blockchain technology and speculative finance imaginaries are inspiring new anarcho-capitalist crypto-utopian ‘Exit zones’, often in the Global South. Far from being a zero-sum virtual game world, we argue that cryptocurrency projects are parasitic, often requiring predation on poor and otherwise marginalised communities to appropriate resources, onboard new users and enable favourable regulation.

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Citations

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Geglia, 2021, A Private Government in Honduras Moves Forward, NACLA
  2. Plešinger, 2017, Energy security as a tool of political pressure in a protracted conflict: Impact of ownership of energy resources on welfare of population in Moldova including transdniestria, Journal of Policy Science, 11, 13
  3. Riding, 2022, Montage space: Extra scenes, Dialogues in Human, Geography, 12, 321
  4. Simpson, 2021, Performing freedom, Transformations, 35, 66

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Metadata

Authors
Howson, P., Rosales, A., Jutel, O., Gloerich, I., Llorens, M. G., de Vries, A., Crandall, J., & Dolan, P.
Affiliations
  • Northumbria University (GB)
  • York University (CA)
  • University of Otago (NZ)
  • University of California, Davis (US)
  • University of California, Berkeley (US)
Corresponding author
Howson, Peter
ORCID
Venue
Political Geography
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2024-11
Volume
115
Pages
103210
ISSN
0962-6298 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.polgeo.2024.103210
OpenAlex
W4403192778
Cited by
20
References
44
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 1
FWCI
7.54
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Political Geography (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
Northumbria University Newcastle
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Finance › Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism
  • Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban Planning and Governance
Keywords
Web3, blockchain, cryptocurrency, speculative finance, anarcho-capitalism, energy consumption, digital infrastructure, displacement, Global South

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