Introduction
- Moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conduct of an activity (OCD, n.d.)
- Standards of right and wrong that exist in society and guide the individual in terms of rights and responsibilities, justice, virtue, and benefit to society (Velasquez et al., 2018)
- Some intangible cultural and social construct, perceived by most people, aimed at regulating social behavior.
Theories of Ethics
The core theories are utilitarianism, virtue, and deontological ethics (Tseng & Wang, 2021). Deontology teaches that respect should not be earned but should be the basis for all communication and technology construction. Social well-being can be achieved when all individuals fulfill some ethical obligations and are willing to go out of their way to meet one another (Khosravi, 2020).
My Values (My Ethical Duty)
- compassion for others
- openness to respect for personal boundaries
- recognition of the absolutism of equality and dignity of all human life
- empowerment and boundaries
- and working together for the well-being of society
Bitcoin
The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is:
- virtual currency
- based on blockchain technology
- ability to pay for goods and services
- decentralization
- collective development
SWOT Analysis: Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths:
- Bringing more users to the possibilities of a decentralized economy.
- The anonymity of Bitcoin use, encouraging personal boundaries of users.
- Expansion of economic opportunities for individuals.
- A tendency toward collectivism and collaborative work on the evolution of blockchain.
Weaknesses:
- The use of Bitcoin for criminal, degrading purposes.
- Focusing the technology in the hands of a small group of users.
- Lack of equity in Bitcoin use, including for vulnerable groups.
- Inhibition of economic equality through high volatility.
SWOT Analysis: Opportunities and Threats
Opportunities:
- Expanding people’s awareness.
- Allocation of quotas for low-income social groups.
- Introduction of progressive taxation.
- Controlling the price of video cards used to mine tokens (Brown, 2021).
- Investing in the development of preventive law enforcement.
Threats:
- The collapse of the tech system.
- Strengthening of Bitcoin’s criminogenic focus.
- High volatility risks.
- The threat of excessive government regulation that violates the philosophy of cryptocurrency.
A Brief History
2008: scientific publication by Satoshi Nakamoto*
2010: Blockchain development, issuance of free Bitcoins
2011 onwards: development of the system and emergence of public value
Tokens are limited; there are only 21 million of them. 90.8% of all Bitcoins are now mined.
Bitcoin Fairness Rating
Bitcoin is an incredible invention of humanity, greatly expanding the economic framework and catalyzing the processes of digital economic development. Meanwhile, Bitcoin creates a number of severe limitations for vulnerable groups, and its high volatility prevents the maximization of socioeconomic equality effects. Thus, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that, despite its serious advantages, still has structural disadvantages.
Key Points of the Code of Ethics
- Effective work
- Trust
- Compliance with legal requirements for securities management
- No harassment
- Diversity and inclusion policy
- Transparency and strict accountability
Basic Recommendations
- Reducing social and economic inequality by providing quotas for the purchase of tokens.
- Introduction of a progressive taxation system for token holders.
- Development of halal procedures.
- Strengthening the preventive law enforcement system.
- Creation of a registry of cryptocurrency holders.
- State regulation of video card prices.
Conclusion
To summarize, applying deontological ethical considerations to Bitcoin makes essential sense, as it provides a deeper understanding of the technology. In all the projects done, it has been shown that cryptocurrency is an excellent innovative tool for today’s digital economy, but its use is mediated by a number of structural problems. For this reason, there is a need for substantive work on the shortcomings, eliminating the undesirable effects of socio-economic inequalities and stimulating inclusiveness.
References
Brown, A. (2021). 700,000 graphics cards were bought by crypto-miners in early 2021 alone. NME. Web.
Gupta, S. (2017). Elon Musk probably invented Bitcoin. Medium. Web.
Hirst, S. (2021). 5 Facts you probably didn’t know about Satoshi Nakamoto. CryptoPotato. Web.
Khosravi, H. (2020). Protecting the Human Rights of Individuals against Covid-19 (Coronavirus) in the Light of Kant’s Deontological Moral Philosophy. Journal of Philosophical Investigations, 14(31), 195-219. Web.
Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system [PDF document]. Web.
OCD. (n.d.). Ethic. Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. Web.
Shahbazi, Z., & Byun, Y. C. (2021). Blockchain-based event detection and trust verification using natural language processing and machine learning.IEEE Access, 10, 5790-5800. Web.
Tseng, P. E., & Wang, Y. H. (2021). Deontological or utilitarian? An eternal ethical dilemma in Outbreak.International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(16), 1-13. Web.
Velasquez, M., Andre, C., Shanks, T., & Meyer, M. J. (2018). What is ethics? SCU. Web.
Wallabit Media. (2022). How many Bitcoins are there? Wallabit Media LLC. Web.