Hidden Peoples and Cryptocurrency

Abstract

This Thesis seeks to answer the question, under what conditions was the bitcoin mar- ket effected in Japan by the revised Payment Services Act and what potential effects can cryptocurrencies have on the the Burakumin? In order to ascertain the effect of the le- gislation this paper utilizes a difference-difference regression analysis to isolate the effects of the Revised Payment Services Act of 2017. This Thesis proposes that the cryptographic systems that virtual currencies are based in render bitcoin incapable of discrimination on the basis of race, origin, or any physical discernible attribute. This discussion concludes with the finding that the Revised Payment Services Act in- creased prices of bitcoin traded in Japanese Yen and the Euro while simultaneously reducing the average trade volume per day. It also states that there is evidence of a cryptobubble formed in response to the Revised Payment Services Act of 2017. Regarding bitcoin’s capacity for social change, this thesis finds that cryptocurrencies currently are an asset class that shows promising propensity to stimulate intergener- ational wealth flows.