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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 July 2022
The spectacular, if erratic, growth in the price of Bitcoin since its first implementation in 2009 has attracted substantial public interest. Unlike the stocks promoted by venture capitalists, it is not simply another instance of a well-established asset class, but rather a completely new asset class. Unlike those stocks, it is not promoted by well-connected finance industry insiders, but has been established by outsiders whose agenda was in part to escape the influence of established institutions. And yet, as this chapter will argue, there are some striking similarities in how its value has been constructed. Above all, the process has depended upon the development of a series of narratives about the value of Bitcoin, which have sought to connect it to lay theories of value or valuation conventions, and those narratives have been marketed to specific groups of potential buyers leading to the construction of an asset circle. This chapter traces some of the narratives that have been told about Bitcoin and how they have contributed to (or, in some cases, undermined) the growth of an asset circle for Bitcoin and thus to its spectacular growth in price.
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