Can crypto-assets be money? A discussion on the nature of money

Mariana Mortágua

Cambridge Journal of Economics, 2026, vol. 50, issue 1, 45-70

Abstract: As the popularity of crypto-assets grows, so does the interest of scholars in exploring different features of these so-called decentralised forms of private digital money. This essay dives into the seminal question of whether the inner characteristics of the so-called cryptocurrencies—understood as privately issued, decentralised and technologically based assets—allow for their natural evolution into money. Prior debates on electronic money are revisited to question whether new technological developments, such as decentralised ledgers, will successfully elevate cryptocurrencies to money. This paper argues that this scenario should be disregarded, not only due to the practical shortcomings of cryptocurrencies, but mainly because the foundations of such fully mechanised currencies are irreconcilable with an ontology of money as a claim, denominated in money of account, as proposed by credit theories of money.

Keywords: Crypto-asset; Cryptocurrency; Digital money; Social ontology; Theories of money (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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