Why Conduct a Systems Analysis of Bitcoin?

A Revised Abstract

After 15 years of existence, Bitcoin has matured into a system poised to play a significant role in the global political economy. The network boasts a steadily growing number of new users, a market capitalization higher than most national currencies, and an energy footprint larger than many countries. The recent approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States marks the beginning of a new era of institutional adoption with profound implications for adoption and market dynamics. As we enter this next phase the time is ripe to ask — what, exactly, is Bitcoin? Satoshi set out to create a peer-to-peer digital cash system, but after a decade and a half of evolution, Bitcoin has morphed into something much more complex and difficult to define. We propose a novel form of systems analysis as a means of providing a rigorous, holistic perspective on Bitcoin’s current and future potential purpose in the world.