Presentation short abstract

This case study in Thailand will offer analysis of the opportunities and costs of crypto’s rise in the region, including impacts for the environment and for “good”. It will contribute to debates on digital natures and the ‘hidden’ ways in which they are shaping our material lives.

Presentation long abstract

Dramatic increases in cryptocurrency’s adoption have engendered a myriad of impacts and opportunities. A growing body of research exists about the implications and unevenness of crypto’s rise, including the massive amount of resources on which it relies for its circulation, and the impacts locations from which those resources are extracted. In Southeast Asia, however, there is limited research critically assessing the opportunities and implications of crypto’s adoption. Here, cryptocurrency’s rise has been dramatic but uneven with tensions emerging among those who have adopted it. It is clear that crypto is extractive since it requires massive amounts of resources for its mining and relies on shadow labour to power it. Yet, cryptocurrencies like Tether and Ethereum also offer an alternative for social movement actors to do “good” in an increasingly authoritarian region, enabling them to bypass authoritarian governments’ financial controls to enact goals of social and environmental justice and to deliver aid to those in need. Adopters include non-governmental and aid organizations as well as Myanmar’s shadow government. This presentation will offer preliminary analysis of the opportunities and costs of crypto’s rise, including the implications for the environment and for “good”, through a grounded case study in Thailand and the Thai-Myanmar border mapping where, how and to what extent crypto is being used by a range of actors. At a broader level, this presentation will contribute to debates on digital natures, the rise of new technologies and the ‘hidden’ ways in which they are shaping our material lives.