Category: Mercator Journalist in Residence

Project: Governance Models of Leading Cryptocurrencies

During his time at ZEVEDI, he discusses the governance models of the leading cryptocurrencies. The market capitalizations of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are in the multi-billion range. However, it is hardly known “who” is behind the cryptocurrencies, most of which are organized as open-source projects. Who is able to make the important technical decisions which, after all, can have serious economic implications? Does an individual, a small self-recruited board, or a democratically organized collective make the decisions? Often, companies as well as foundations or pseudo-foundations play a role in the ecosystem of a cryptocurrency. As benchmarks serve other large open source projects which likewise evolved together with and side by side with certain communities, organizations and companies.

The Residency – Input and Effects

■ Article in the AufRuhr Magazine: Alle Macht der Community? Was Bitcoin & Co. mit Wikipedia gemeinsam haben», 11 January 2024 (in German)

Project

During her residency, she has investigated the question of whether women are sufficiently included in the digitalisation of finance. And whether the digital gap might exacerbate the existing gender gap in finance or in financial education.

The Residency – Input and Effects

■ Presentation and Talk with High School Students, Darmstadt, 16 Mai 2023 and the eFin-Blog-Article about it by Laura Grosser, 8 August 2023, of the same title : “Why we all should talk more about money”» (in German only)

■ Podcast Episode / Interview with Dr. Carola Westermeier : “The digital Euro is coming! How do you develop a new currency addressing and including everyone’s needs?”», 25 Juli 2023 (in German only)

■ Podcast Episode / Interview with Mareice Kaiser: “How do you talk about money if you don’t have any – and who is listening?”», 4 August 2023 (in German only)

Project Proposal

During his residency, Martin Karcher has been working on a graphic novel on the topic of “digital payment” for an audience of teenagers and young adults aged 16 and older. He explored the utopias and dystopias associated with the digitalization of the financial sector, especially digital payment.

The Residency – Input and Effects

■ Video of the Visit and Talk with Students of the Bertolt Brecht School und Video Portrait by Rainer Lind», 14 Dezember, 2022, Darmstadt (in German only)

■ Short Exhibition „The BitBlockKryptoComic – A Making-Of“», 16 Dezember 2022, Darmstadt

■ efin-Blog Article „A Graphic Novel about the Utopia(s) of Digital Payment”», 24 April 2023, by Laura Grosser (in German only)

■ Interview about the eFin & Democracy Project and the BitBlockKryptoComic with Martin Karcher und Caroline Marburger: „Digitales Geld – Desinteresse hilft uns auch nicht weiter”», AufRuhr-Magazin, 18 July 2023 (in German only)

Martin Karcher about his time at ZEVEDI

“How can you showcase abstract, complex, technical topics in a visually appealing and entertaining way? As a comic artist, I find that anything can be depicted in a comic or graphic novel. It is a very diverse medium, it combines the aesthetics and expressiveness of a single drawing with the dramaturgical possibilities of a film or a play. In a comic, the moving image becomes a still, permanent series of images which can be read or “looked up” repreatedly. I therefore find it ideal for conveying more complicated content.
During my time at ZEVEDI, I asked myself what impact the digitalisation of money could have on our everyday life, on our society, on our democracy in the future. My goal was to turn this question into a comic that could sensitise teenagers and young adults to the topic in an entertaining way. In addition to the development of the storyline, this also resulted in sketches for a 10-page comic, all shown in a “making-of” exhibition at the Kunstforum of the TU Darmstadt. I also held a introductory course on how to create and draw a graphic novel for students of the Bertolt-Brecht-Schule.”

Project Proposal

During his residency Rainer Lind has pursued an interview project on the topics at the heart of the discourse project “eFin & Democracy”. He has conducted in-depth interviews with people whose lives, hobbies and/or profession allow for different and sometimes unusual perspectives on the digitalised financial sector.

The Residency – Input and Effects

■ Website with a Collection of 15 Video Portraits» (German only)

■ Film Screening and Panel Discussion „Modern Talking“ – Contemporary History and ideo Portraits on the Digitalized Finance Sector», 16 Mai 2023, State Archive, Darmstadt

Project Proposal

During his residency, Friedemann Brenneis further explored the question of whether Bitcoin could really be the trigger for a new form of civic, political, and democratic engagement, or whether challenging the state’s monopoly on money and established power structures – which are essential ideas of Bitcoin -, could ultimately be dangerous or profitable for our society.

The Residency – Input and Effects

■ Public Lecture „Why Bitcoin?“» and its video recording», 26 Juli 2022, TU Darmstadt (in German)

■ Public Lecture „Bitcoin – Boon or Bane for our Society?», 9 August 2022, Darmstadt (in German)

■ Article in the AufRuhr Magazine: Bitcoin – More than just Digital Money», 21 Dezember 2022 (in German)

Brenneis about his time at ZEVEDI

“How relevant is Bitcoin and what influence does it have on our society? As a journalist, I have been pursuing this question since 2013 and have been coming up with new answers ever since. As a decentralised project that is constantly and dynamically evolving, Bitcoin by design eludes systematic recording. Statements about the first purely digital money can therefore only ever be snapshots representing each very specific perspectives. Different views on Bitcoin are therefore often contradictory or even conflicting. And always shaped by individual attitudes and political and economic interests towards this new and different kind of money. But given this complex state of information, what do we actually know about Bitcoin? During my time at ZEVEDI, I looked at some of the socially most contentious aspects and explored the question of whether Bitcoin is potentially more dangerous or more beneficial for our society. In a workshop and two lectures, I presented my findings. They are preliminary results, yet again, however prompted by a consistently growing interaction between Bitcoin and society.”