Krypto, Krise, Kult?

• As part of the series “Masculinity.Power.USA – On Tech Bros and Boys’ Clubs”
• in cooperation with the Federal Agency for Civic Education

It’s not just the tech oligarchs in Silicon Valley—Bitcoin enthusiasts are also calling for disruption: a revolution of the current financial system through cryptocurrencies, which are intended to render established banks obsolete. The goal is to create open market access for all and to fundamentally decentralize the financial system. At least, that is the vision—one that plays on the almost hallucinatory quality of extreme wealth and quickly mutates into a fiction of power. This evening, we want to ask not only whether cryptocurrencies truly represent an emancipatory project, but also to what extent the cult of Bitcoin is fueled by libertarian-conservative ideals of masculinity. And in the end, is it perhaps not so much a willingness to take risks that drives this phenomenon as it is uncertainty in the face of global (financial) crises?

Guest:

Juan S. Guse, born in 1989, is a sociologist and author. His novels *Lärm und Wälder* (2015) and *Miami Punk* (2019) were published by S. Fischer. He has received numerous awards for his work. In 2025, his book “A Thousand Times as Much Money as Now” was published. For the book, he spent a year meeting with ordinary men who had become wealthy through cryptocurrencies.
Moderator: Carolin Wiedemann, a journalist and sociologist, writes for publications such as the FAZ and *Die Zeit* on gender relations, right-wing mobilization, and digital capitalism. She has been part of the editorial board of *Missy Magazine* since September 2025.
 

About the series

“Masculinity.Power.USA

on tech bros and boys’ clubs"

A series of events in cooperation with the Federal Agency for Civic Education

What do new images of masculinity, political developments in the U.S., and the unrelenting thirst for oil have in common? In our series “Masculinity.Power.USA – on tech bros and boys’ clubs,” we aim to explore the ideological interconnections between hypermasculine worldviews, capitalism, and current U.S. politics. We examine the ideologies of neo-reactionary thinkers and ask why their “dark Enlightenment” was able to seep not only into the corridors of power in Silicon Valley but ultimately take hold in the White House as well. We analyze the phenomenon of “petromasculinity” and why male identity perceives climate protection as a threat and thus calls all the more loudly for the defense of fossil fuels. Amid Bitcoin hype and fantasies of masculinity, we examine whether cryptocurrencies truly promise freedom. And last but not least, we take a look at how patriarchal violence operates in politics, the economy, and society—and how, as exemplified by the Epstein case, it is inextricably intertwined, as if under a magnifying glass.

All Dates

Wed, August 19, 7:00 p.m. 
The Minds Behind MAGA: Intellectual Lineages of Neo-Reactionary Thought

Tue, August 25, 7 p.m.
Drill, Baby, Drill! A Conversation on Petro-Masculinity 

Tue, September 1, 7:00 p.m.
Crypto, Crisis, Cult? Bitcoin Between Emancipation and Fantasies of Masculinity

Wed, September 15, 7:00 p.m.
The Epstein Files: Within the Network of Patriarchal Violence