Bitcoin, a decentralized cryptocurrency, has not only given rise to a wave of digital innovations but also stirred up considerable controversy. Some have hailed it as the most significant innovation since the Internet, while others have dismissed it as a Ponzi scheme that should be abandoned and forbidden. Regardless of these varying views, this is an innovation in need of scrutiny. In this paper we present a metastory of Bitcoin, based on an interpretative study of 737 news articles between 2011–2019. Through our analysis, we identified five narratives, including The Dark Side, The Bright Side, The Tulip Mania, The Idea, and The Normality. Our analysis demonstrates the interpretive flexibility of technology as influenced by ideologies, and we construct a theoretical model demonstrating media’s role as constructor and conduit. The metastory provides an institutional look at the broader interpretations of digital innovations as well as the multifaceted nature of digital innovations and how their interpretation evolve over time.

中文翻译：

---

媒体中字母数字符号的故事：比特币案例

比特币作为一种去中心化的加密货币，不仅掀起了一波数字创新浪潮，也引发了相当大的争议。一些人称赞它是自互联网以来最重要的创新，而另一些人则认为它是一个应该放弃和禁止的庞氏骗局。不管这些不同的观点如何，这是一项需要仔细审查的创新。在本文中，我们基于对 2011 年至 2019 年间 737 篇新闻文章的解释性研究，展示了比特币的元故事。通过我们的分析，我们确定了五种叙事，包括黑暗面、光明面、郁金香狂热、理念和常态。我们的分析证明了受意识形态影响的技术的解释灵活性，我们构建了一个理论模型，展示了媒体作为建设者和渠道的作用。