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

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.