Introduction : media cultures of value: economy, politics, and art in Web3

Abstract

With a ‘crypto president’ in office and Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high on inauguration day, the crypto winter has ended despite the unpleasant chill in Washington. Meanwhile, public perception of crypto remains disconnected from its growing role as an Internet layer. Since the hype of 2018 and 2021 blockchain largely faded from media discourse, resurfacing in 2025 after major exchange collapses like FTX in 2022 and NFT scams exposed flawed business models fueled by tech optimism and personality cults. While AI now dominates digital discourse, blockchain development quietly advances, reshaping data infrastructure, the attention economy, and ushering in the next phase of platform capitalism: Web3.