Control and surveillance in digital capitalism: an analysis of blockchain technologies and their business implementation

Abstract

Abstract The article discusses how the new information and communication technologies (NICTs) interrelate with the control and surveillance of systems through the case study of blockchain technologies. Initially, considering the debates in the sociology of work and the resources for a qualitative methodology, we analyze how blockchain technologies arise due to the economic crisis and the need for regulation of the post-2008 crisis markets. In the first part, we look at the surveillance and market control dimensions that emerged in this context. In the second part, we discuss the emergence of the crypto-assets market led by Bitcoin and, mainly, the technological dimension of the blockchain network. We understand that, although there is an attempt to analyze Bitcoin as a financialization of capital, the measurement of technical advantages and disadvantages in the creation of the blockchain network is a substantial factor and of significant impact on the decision-making of companies in the most varied fields. The last part of the article points out, through the quantitative analysis of reports and surveys, a meeting of the operability offered by blockchain technology and the expectation of implementation of this technology in various business sectors, elucidating the competitive advantages listed by them. We seek, then, to understand how implementing these new technologies deepens the dimensions of control and surveillance of production chains.