The lesson from the Ukrainian crisis: can cryptocurrencies drive a shift from positive to natural money?

Cattelan, Valentino (2025) The lesson from the Ukrainian crisis: can cryptocurrencies drive a shift from positive to natural money? Ianus (31). ISSN 1974-9805

Preview

Text Cattelan_anteprima.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike. Download (1MB)

Abstract

This article discusses the moral dimension of money and how it is affected today by cryptocurrencies in global financial markets. Its core argument is that in the Russia-Ukraine conflict not only have cryptocurrencies proven functional to humanitarian activism, but they have also given body to a new monetary community that certifies a radical departure from classic state sovereignty underpinning fiat money. Accordingly, in this context a significant shift from “positive money” (pecunia posita) to “natural money” (pecunia naturalis) has already happened. The article investigates this shift both from a theoretical and an empirical perspective, drawing some final considerations on the intersection between blockchain technology and human-chain morality in the light of the potential rise of a new model of global humanitarian money.

Item Type:	Article
Dates:	Date Event 31 December 2025 Accepted 31 December 2025 Published Online
Subjects:	CAH16 - law > CAH16-01 - law > CAH16-01-01 - law
Divisions:	Law and Social Sciences > Law
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	02 Mar 2026 13:48
Last Modified:	02 Mar 2026 13:48
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/16897

Actions (login required)

View Item