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APA

De Filippi, P., & Loveluck, B. (2016). The invisible politics of Bitcoin: governance crisis of a decentralised infrastructure. Internet Policy Review, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.14763/2016.3.427

American Psychological Association. For more info, see https://www.apastyle.org

Chicago

De Filippi, Primavera and Loveluck, Benjamin. 2016. "The invisible politics of Bitcoin: governance crisis of a decentralised infrastructure". Internet Policy Review 5 (3). DOI: 10.14763/2016.3.427. https://policyreview.info/articles/analysis/invisible-politics-bitcoin-governance-crisis-decentralised-infrastructure.

Chicago Referencing Style. For more info, see https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org

Harvard

De Filippi, Primavera & Loveluck, B. (2016). The invisible politics of Bitcoin: governance crisis of a decentralised infrastructure. Internet Policy Review,[online] 5(3). Available at: https://policyreview.info/articles/analysis/invisible-politics-bitcoin-governance-crisis-decentralised-infrastructure [Accessed: 2 Sep. 2026].

Harvard Referencing Style

MLA

De Filippi, Primavera, and Loveluck, Benjamin. "The invisible politics of Bitcoin: governance crisis of a decentralised infrastructure". Internet Policy Review 5.3 (2016). Web. 2 Sep. 2026.

Modern Language Association, 7th Ed. For more info, see https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/index.html

Vancouver

De Filippi P, Loveluck B. The invisible politics of Bitcoin: governance crisis of a decentralised infrastructure. Internet Policy Review [Internet]. 2016 [2 September 2026];5(3). Available from: https://policyreview.info/articles/analysis/invisible-politics-bitcoin-governance-crisis-decentralised-infrastructure

Vancouver Style. For more info, see https://library.vcc.ca/media/vcc-library/content-assets/documents/VancouverStyleGuide.pdf

A cryptocurrency system can be understood as a system intended for the issuance of tokens which are intended to be used as a general or limited-purpose medium-of-exchange, and which are accounted for using an often collectively-maintained digital ledger making use of cryptography to replace trust in institutions to varying extents. Against such a backdrop, the singular term cryptocurrency can mean a token, intended to be used as a general or limited-purpose medium-of-exchange, issued via a cryptocurrency system.

KEYWORDS: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin

Is Bitcoin a fair and reliable currency? Contrary to what its proponents might hope, Bitcoin is far from fulfilling their expectations.

KEYWORDS: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Social justice, Efficiency, Libertarianism

Contrary to the early view that cryptocurrencies’ decentralisation makes them unregulable, the formation of new intermediaries will guarantee regulators’ ultimate power. The key challenge is how to balance control and innovation.

Ethereum

2

Ethereum: the decentralised platform that might displace today’s institutions

Primavera De Filippi, National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS)
Raffaele Mauro, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

PUBLISHED ON: 25 Aug 2014

Cryptocurrencies have now become commonplace in the online world. Although most of the media attention is focused on decentralised payment systems, the true revolution is happening at a much deeper level, argue Primavera de Filippi and Raffaele Mauro.

Bitcoin is the first decentralised, peer-to-peer network that allows for the proof and transfer of ownership of virtual currencies without the need for a trusted third party. The purpose of this article is to address how we can capture Bitcoin’s potential benefits for the economy while addressing new regulatory challenges.

KEYWORDS: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Finance, Internet architecture, Internet governance

Internet Policy Review is an open access and peer-reviewed journal on internet regulation.

Scholars, regulators, journalists, activists, and other stakeholders publish in the journal in a variety of formats

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Concepts: Critical reflections on emerging core concepts of the digital society
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Essays: Free-form yet in-depth contentions with issues of academic or social relevance
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Opinions: Opinion pieces commenting on developments in the realm of internet policy
Open Abstract: Extended abstracts for works in progress that receive public peer review

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Inclusive by design? Participatory governance and the future of digital public spaces

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