LOKI: Can the “Trickster” Crypto Help Restore Democratic Order to the Internet?

The use of privacy features in crypto currency has been a lightning rod for debate for as long as it’s held a place in popular culture. Indeed, few no-coiners had any frame of reference for Bitcoin before Ross Ulbricht, (aka “Dread Pirate Roberts”), put the now defunct Silk-Road on the map as the place to trade ‘untraceable’ digital currency for black market contraband. Yes, there were any number of illicit substances and services exchanged for BTC on this dark-web market, but it would be too easy to disregard Satoshi’s vision, or other cryptocurrencies as solely useful to grease the wheels of some infernal underground economy, (lest we forget that US tender, and more specifically, the $100 bill, is the favored form of ‘anonymous’ currency among money launderers). As with most topics that deserve discussion, it’s just not that simple.

In a consumer marketplace where attention spans are becoming ever more fractured, politicians and news outlets are quick to promote sound bite-slogans that resonate with their base, instilling a sense of confidence in uncertain times. Often, it makes no difference whether the rhetoric yields an accurate depiction…