The rise of digital finance poses profound challenges and opportunities for statehood, governance, and development, particularly in peripheral economies. This workshop examines how digital financial infrastructures intersect with monetary dependence, financialized economy, and the neoliberal state.
Drawing on empirical evidence from the recent study “Crypto Currencies and Development Mode in Flux: Unfolding Bitcoin Mining in Georgia,” this workshop offers insights into state-crypto cooperation, as well as the reconfiguration of state power. The Georgian case demonstrates how crypto mining operates as a form of digital extractivism, which is facilitated by the state through deregulation, preferential tax policies, and access to cheap energy. Rather than producing broad developmental gains, this model reinforces existing inequalities, exacerbates environmental problems, and generates limited positive spillovers for local communities and national development.
The workshop invites a critical examination of:
- How digital finance reshapes the political economy of peripheral states;
- Whether crypto currencies enhance or undermine state capacity and policy autonomy;
- The social, environmental, and distributional consequences of crypto-related activities.
Accessibility
The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact us at 617-495-4037 or daviscenter@fas.harvard.edu in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance if possible. Please note that the Davis Center will make every effort to secure services but that services are subject to availability.
