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Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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Cryptocurrency as a Digital Registration Regime: Blockchain, Inscription, and the Ontology of Financial Value

Authors: Arı, Ali;

Cryptocurrency as a Digital Registration Regime: Blockchain, Inscription, and the Ontology of Financial Value

Abstract

This article argues that the value of cryptocurrencies does not primarily originate from market speculation but from the existence of a socially recognized and technically stabilized registration regime. Drawing on Registration Regime Theory (RRT), the paper conceptualizes blockchain as a secularized “Book of Deeds” in which ownership, scarcity, and temporal continuity are ontologically fixed through immutable inscription. Speculative price movements operate only on the basis of this pre-existing archival infrastructure and cannot generate value independently. Through an analysis of Bitcoin’s fixed monetary supply, proof-of-work mechanism, the Ethereum DAO fork, and inscription practices such as Ordinals, the study demonstrates how digital value emerges through writing rather than exchange alone. The article situates cryptocurrencies within a historical continuum of divine, bureaucratic, and algorithmic archives, arguing that contemporary finance has entered a new phase of financial ontology, where reality itself is constituted through cryptographic records.

Keywords

Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Financial Ontology, Registration Regime Theory, Digital Archives, Immutability, Archival Labor

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
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