ABSTRACT Cryptocurrencies are a hotly debated topic because it is not clear why they should be valued as they are. Bitcoin, by far the most prominent cryptocurrency, currently trades around $9,500 USD. “Why is Bitcoin valuable?” is a question often heard but seldom answered well. It is not the legal tender of any nation, nor does it represent anything of physical or intrinsic value. Some people attribute its value to its scarcity, others to its anonymity, and others to its immutability, all of which are created and managed by a computer algorithm. Current theories fail to explain Bitcoin’s value, or it is not immediately apparent how they might explain it. We are therefore motivated to investigate the sources of cryptocurrency value through the emergent value systems of the Bitcoin community. We use concourse theory and Q-methodology to discover five types of Bitcoin value systems that are complementary and coexisting facets of a collective whole, each type being its own internally consistent “theory” of value, and therefore our typology avoids simplistic generalizations about cryptocurrencies and the motivations behind those involved. We named the types: Fintech, Libertarians, Purists, Average Joe, and Gentrifier. Of interest, four of the five types we identified appear not to value Bitcoin for its monetary or market value, despite what is usually assumed. Instead, Bitcoin is associated with its potential as an alternative currency that may be used to exchange value, to mitigate various forms of risk, or as a force for social and cultural change. These five types may also underlie broader digital innovation processes and provide a basis from which to understand them.

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加密货币价值体系的来源：比特币案例

摘要 加密货币是一个备受争议的话题，因为尚不清楚为什么它们应该被重视。比特币是迄今为止最著名的加密货币，目前交易价格约为 9,500 美元。“为什么比特币有价值？” 是一个经常听到但很少得到很好回答的问题。它不是任何国家的法定货币，也不代表任何物质或内在价值。有些人将其价值归因于其稀缺性，其他人归因于其匿名性，而另一些人则将其价值归因于其不变性，所有这些都是由计算机算法创建和管理的。当前的理论无法解释比特币的价值，或者他们如何解释它并不是很明显。因此，我们有动力通过比特币社区的新兴价值系统来调查加密货币价值的来源。我们使用集合理论和 Q 方法来发现五种类型的比特币价值系统，它们是一个集体整体的互补和共存的方面，每种类型都是其内部一致的价值“理论”，因此我们的类型学避免了对加密货币的简单概括和参与者背后的动机。我们将这些类型命名为：Fintech、Liberarians、Purists、Average Joe 和 Gentrifier。有趣的是，我们确定的五种类型中的四种似乎没有根据其货币或市场价值对比特币进行估值，尽管通常是这样假设的。相反，比特币与其作为替代货币的潜力相关联，可用于交换价值、减轻各种形式的风险或作为社会和文化变革的力量。