Announcing Our New Research Intern: Jacob Evans

Hi everyone, my name is Jacob Evans, and I am thrilled to announce that I have joined Brilliance Labs as a research intern working with Ahshuwah and Nate. When I met these guys at the 2024 Thank God for Bitcoin Convention, Nate handed me a pamphlet which described cryptocurrency as a tool to expand Missio Dei to the ‘uttermost part[s] of the earth’ (Acts. 1: 8). The idea of cryptocurrency as a tool for building the Kingdom of God was exceptionally thought-provoking and, beginning to read for a Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (DPhil) at the University of Oxford, it presented a compelling avenue of research that aligned with my academic interests. My academic interests revolve around the intersection of religion and technology, exploring how technology reshapes how religion is conceptualised and practised. For my DPhil Research, in partnership with Brilliance Labs, I am exploring this intersection by examining the adoption and use of cryptocurrency within missiology.

So why cryptocurrency and missiology? I have always had a fascination with cryptocurrency, its adoption, and the communities built around specific tokens. My previous research focused on the online cryptocurrency community, exploring cryptocurrency from technical and social perspectives. The conclusion I reached was that behind the digital phenomenon were real people who made an immaterial phenomenon viscerally tangible. Indeed, my determination to continue developing a human-centred understanding of cryptocurrency within the current academic literature is where my DPhil research begins. The shift away from the larger, more general community of adopters towards a demographic with specific religious rationales is a natural progression, as it allows my research to ‘glimpse, to measure, [and] to balance’ (Mauss 2016: 120) a different side of cryptocurrency’s human reality.

The increased complexity introduced by weaving Christianity into the justification, motivation, and rationale for cryptocurrency adoption offers a unique way to examine cryptocurrency communities and an opportunity to focus on the human side of this digital phenomenon. Additionally, the choice to pursue the examination of cryptocurrency adoption within a Christian framework allows me to be slightly more ambitious with my questions and to challenge the assumption that Christianity is an ‘obvious or known’ (Cannell 2009: 3) entity. While my academic aspirations to present Christianity as a relevant topic of study stem from the historical tendency to disregard its relevance, my personal reasons revolve around the need to be bold about my beliefs.

As a believer of Christ and a practitioner of Christianity, I have long searched for the way in which I could follow His example to ‘preach good tidings … bind up the broken-hearted … [and] proclaim liberty to the captive’ (Isaiah. 61: 1; Luke. 4: 16) while still being able to pay rent. Over the last couple of years, it has become clear that my personal contribution to ‘[His] vineyard’ (Matthew. 28: 21) falls within the walls of academia. Indeed, repeated criticism within the university against taking an overt stance as a believer has really informed my need to no longer hide my candle ‘under a bushel’ (Matthew. 5: 15) but to be bold about my believes so that others can be bold about theirs as well.

Questions and Methodology

Committed to being bold about my beliefs and a human-centred understanding of cryptocurrency adoption and usage within missions, my research is attempting to answer the following three questions:

1 How does the incorporation of cryptocurrency into Christian evangelism change the geospatial limitations of missionary organisations, including the migration patterns of long-term and short-term missionaries,

2 What is the theological and socio-cultural justification enabling the adoption of cryptocurrency into some forms of Christianity, including an examination of ideology and attached ritual,

and

3 How does the new spatial reality change the geo-body of Christendom, identifying how this new spatial representation has become a lived reality designed to 'concretise the projected desire on the earth's surface' (Winichakul 1994: 410) through the realisation of the Great Commission?

My methodological approach to these questions is primarily influenced by the work of theologian Francis Young who connects the relevance of theologically focused questions to anthropology in their mutual interest in understanding questions 'which arise from the condition of people's lives as they are lived' (Young 1982: 16). Indeed, the central concern of my methodology reflects this focus through its use of ethnography to examine Christianity and cryptocurrency as a lived reality. Ethnography is not just about data collection, it is about engagement with people’s everyday lives. Focusing on capturing the ‘intimate details of … daily life’ (Malinowski 2014: 7) including the ‘least known and least spectacular … the drab and obsessive [parts of our] routine’ (Wacquant 2004: 6). Because Anthropology, and specifically ethnography, deals with intimate details of people’s lives I am committed to ensuring that all data is stored and protected in accordance with the university’s Data Protection Policy. The policy ensures that all data is processed fairly and transparently and is only used for the limited and specific stated purpose, limited to what is relevant and necessary, accurate and up to date, kept no longer than necessary, and kept safe and secure. If you are interested in contributing to my research or just chatting, feel free to email me at [research email]. I would love to hear your thoughts, experiences, and insights on cryptocurrency, mission projects, missiology, Christianity, or any other topic that is important to you. For more information on the university’s Data Protection Policy, please visit https://compliance.admin.ox.ac.uk/data-protection-policy.