Is Bitcoin just stale wine in a brand new bottle?

The statement in the headline was said by MoneyLab's coordinator Patricia de Vries, at the opening of Art, Culture and Financial Activism, a sold-out event hosted at Somerset House, in London - UK. In its 4th edition, MoneyLab is a programme of critical research and artistic intervention that explores the connections between contemporary art, financial activism and digital culture.

Around 40 researchers, artists, designers, and cultural entrepreneurs from around the world – plus members of the public – gathered on January 20t for a day-long programme of workshops, discussions and artistic experimentation to explore the relationship between critical art-making, decentralised financial technologies, collective organisation, and civil disobedience.

As we enter the 10th year of the global financial crisis, Patricia de Vries says that it is very crucial to distinguish "old wine from its fancy new bottles". According to her, "solutions" that have been presented as an alternative are not always real alternatives, such as many of the cryptocurrencies available nowadays:

"Tech-savvy elites are hoarding Bitcoins and using them as a commodity, it is a speculative object, it is not a currency. You need to have the money to build the infrastructure to mine them; that is not disruptive, that is not alternative, it is just a new object of speculation. It is the same thing, just a new bottle".

Using this metaphor, #FairCoop and #FairCoin can be understood as refreshing and delicious new wines served to the audience in a workshop titled "Earth’s Cooperative for Economic Justice". FairCoop is an open, global cooperative that self-organizes through the Internet, outside the boundaries and controls of nation-states. Its mission is to create an innovative glocal economic system from the bottom up towards an alternative and post-capitalist model to pave the way for a collective change towards a life in common.

FairCoin is the cryptocurrency supported by this global cooperative grassroots movement. It is a powerful tool to change the world through achieving independence from central banks, financial institutions and governments. FairCoin is a key tool in the new economic system that the FairCoop community is co-creating and, compared to other cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, its value is stable and frequently adjusted from the community by consensus.

The event ended with a book launch – "MoneyLab Reader 2: Overcoming the Hype" – a collection of essays from artists, academics and activists critically exploring art, finance and technology, as well as the political and social territories created since the financial crash. FairCoin gets a mention in "Postcards From The World Of Decentralized Money: A Story In Three Parts", essay by Jaya Klara Brekke.

To download "MoneyLab Reader 2: Overcoming the Hype" in PDF or order a free physical copy click here.

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PS: A similar version of this article – written by myself – appeared in the FairCoop's blog.

PS2: FairCoop is constantly looking for skilled people – everybody with a proactive mindset and a good spirit is very welcome – join us!