Bitcoin is more ambitious than merely providing a somewhat anonymous way to buy stuff on the Internet. Bitcoin is meant as a new money for the Internet age. However, this new money is supposed to be based on different principles than all modern currencies, i.e., credit money.
Because of this ambition, Bitcoin prompts us to ask what money is. Bitcoin reflects on various qualities of money, which are usually taken for granted, by addressing them as "technical challenges". In particular, the Bitcoin design is an attempt to solve the "technical" problem of how to exclude people from the wealth of societies and how to maintain a permanent conflict of interest. Hence, we want to present what Bitcoin's inner workings imply about the social conditions known as the free market. In particular, from these "design challenges" we can learn that a market economy needs state domination. This stands in contrast to what Libertarians, who might posit Bitcoin as an anti-state intervention, like to believe.
Furthermore, Bitcoin is an expression of scepticism against credit money. For example, the total amount of Bitcoin that can ever be created is fixed to 21 million. Hence, Libertarians argue whether Bitcoin is yet another fiat currency or an adequate emulation of gold on the Internet. In opposition to this, if there is time left, we want to discuss the question why all modern currencies are credit money. That is, why does capitalism lead to the development of a credit system and in the last instance credit money. Instead of discussing the advantages/disadvantages of a new gold standard, we want to discuss why there is no gold standard in modern capitalism or why credit money is the adequate form of money under capitalism.
No prior knowledge of the inner workings of Bitcoin is required to take part in this workshop.