Reconstructing Financial Reality in a Decentralised World: A Searlean Perspective on Financial Technology, Blockchain, and Cryptocurrencies

John Searle is a philosopher known for his work on the philosophy of mind, language, and social reality. Searle’s theory of social reality provides an essential framework for explaining the functioning of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. According to Searle’s concept of “institutional facts,” social reality is constructed by people’s acceptance of certain things and attributing a common meaning to them. In this context, cryptocurrencies, like traditional currencies, exist only to the extent that their users value and accept them. The difference, however, is that cryptocurrencies are not based on a centralised authority but on consensus among the participants of a distributed network. Searle’s notion of “deontic powers” can be associated with smart contracts on the blockchain. Smart contracts are digital rules that automatically enforce agreements between parties, require no central authority, and create new rights and obligations. Thus, blockchain technology offers a digital social reality within Searle’s theoretical framework. The operation of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts is a powerful example of how social reality is constructed through collective acceptance and consensus. Therefore, this study aims to apply John Searle’s theory of social reality to the functioning of blockchain and cryptocurrencies to explain how decentralised digital assets create a new reality based on social acceptance and consensus.