Tokens: The Future Of Money In The Age Of The Platform - Rachel O'dwyer - English Book

Beskrivelse

Money is rapidly being replaced by tokens issued by digital platforms, reshaping how we think about currency. From game tokens to customer data, these new forms of money-like assets are everywhere.

Tokens reveal the rise of digital currencies controlled by platforms and their impact on power, inequality, and the economy.

Longlisted for the FT Schroders Business Book of the Year Award 2023 and named a Best Book of the Year by GQ, Los Angeles Times, and Wired, Tokens dives into the emerging world of platform-based money. Rachel O'Dwyer explores how digital platforms are creating new kinds of currencies-like phone credit, shares, gift vouchers, game tokens, and customer data-and what it means when these platforms act as the new banks. She investigates the new forms of control and discrimination that arise when money is tied to specific apps, actions, politics, or identities.

Tracing the history of extra-monetary economies, O'Dwyer shows that private and grassroots tokens have always existed alongside the traditional economy. But today, with tech giants issuing these money-like instruments, tokens are becoming widespread. Examples include:

• Amazon's Turk workers being paid in gift cards
• Online streamers exchanging wishlists
• Foreign remittances sent via phone credit
• Bitcoin, NFTs, customer data, and game tokens as new forms of money

This shift challenges the balance of power between online empires and governments. While tokens can offer flexible and even subversive ways to get paid, they also enable platforms to accumulate unprecedented power. Tokens is a must-read for anyone interested in digital money, economic inequality, and the future landscape of finance.

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