Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, Leiden University, 2333 CA, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Department of Network and Data Science, Central European University, 1100, Wien, Austria.
Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 11;13(1):5864. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-33184-1.
Circulation is the characteristic feature of successful currency systems, from community currencies to cryptocurrencies to national currencies. In this paper, we propose a network analysis approach especially suited for studying circulation given a system's digital transaction records. Sarafu is a digital community currency that was active in Kenya over a period that saw considerable economic disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We represent its circulation as a network of monetary flow among the 40,000 Sarafu users. Network flow analysis reveals that circulation was highly modular, geographically localized, and occurring among users with diverse livelihoods. Across localized sub-populations, network cycle analysis supports the intuitive notion that circulation requires cycles. Moreover, the sub-networks underlying circulation are consistently degree disassortative and we find evidence of preferential attachment. Community-based institutions often take on the role of local hubs, and network centrality measures confirm the importance of early adopters and of women's participation. This work demonstrates that networks of monetary flow enable the study of circulation within currency systems at a striking level of detail, and our findings can be used to inform the development of community currencies in marginalized areas.
循环是成功货币系统的特征，从社区货币到加密货币再到国家货币都是如此。在本文中，我们提出了一种网络分析方法，特别适合于研究给定系统的数字交易记录中的循环。Sarafu 是一种数字社区货币，在肯尼亚活跃了一段时间，在此期间，由于 COVID-19 大流行，肯尼亚经历了相当大的经济混乱。我们将其流通表示为 40000 名 Sarafu 用户之间货币流动的网络。网络流量分析表明，流通具有高度的模块性、地域本地化，并且发生在具有不同生计的用户之间。在本地化的子群体中，网络循环分析支持了这样一个直观的概念，即流通需要循环。此外，循环所基于的子网始终是度非聚类的，我们发现了优先连接的证据。基于社区的机构通常承担当地枢纽的角色，网络中心性度量证实了早期采用者和女性参与的重要性。这项工作表明，货币流动网络能够以惊人的细节水平研究货币系统中的循环，我们的发现可用于为边缘化地区的社区货币发展提供信息。
