Member-only story
Crypto Culture and Ancient Tribes
Crypto culture is a fascinating lens on how what we think are new behaviours come from ancient human societies.
Mariam changed her social media profile pictures to include glowing lasers eyes. Abdul changed his to show diamond hands. In the distant past, a Trobriand Islander refused to trade his kula shells for some goods. Across time, these people believed that in volatile times, holding onto to what one has would prove t be more valuable in the future. We may think some of the behaviours of the modern world of cryptocurrency are new, but in reality they are ancient human behaviours.
The digital wallets on our phones have become the new sacred bundles while blockchain addresses function like clan totems. Diamond hands during market volatility play the same role as initiation rituals of our ancestors, proving membership in the tribe and belief in the collective mythology.
Cryptocurrency is touted often as a way of fighting “the man” or what many see as an act of anarchy and protest against increasingly mistrusted legacy financial systems. This is true, but that’s just a surface sociocultural reaction. Cryptocurrency has evolved it’s own culture, or perhaps subculture. With norms, customs, rituals, behaviours and traditions. When we see it in this way, we can better understand where it may be going and the potential impacts on the…
