Biography

Lana Swartz is an associate professor of Media Studies and Shannon Mid-career . She studies social and cultural aspects of money to understand the future of financial technology, livelihoods, financial literacy, and consumer protection in the digital economy. She is currently writing a book on scams, which will be about all of that, as well her upbringing on a boat in Miami. She is also working on a major project focused on youth financial wellness in the digital economy, funded by TYDE.

Her book, New Money: How Payment Became Social Media was released from Yale University Press in 2020. It was named #12 on a list of "greatest tech books of all time" by The Verge. Her co-edited book Paid: Tales of Dongles, Checks, and Other Money Stuff was published by MIT Press in April 2017. In 2023, she released a major research research report on the warning signs and ways forward for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which was conducted in collaboration with the MIT Digital Currency Initiative. Her co-authored 2013 article on bitcoin was the first socio-cultural analysis of cryptocurrency. Her 2018 follow-up article has also been influential among policymakers and academics working to understand the significance of new money forms. She has also published on topics ranging from the Diners Club Card to ICO scams to blockchain dreams.

She has held fellowships with Berggruen Institute, University of Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, and Social Media Collective at Microsoft Research New England. She received the 2024 Research Excellence Award from the University of Virginia.

She regularly speaks to academic, industry, and public audiences, such as recent keynotes at Cambridge University Law School, Re:Publica in Berlin, and the Interdisciplinary Market Studies Workshop. Her work has been featured in the New Yorker, New York Times, PBS Nova, TANK, Wall Street Journal, and more.

Lana Swartz is a member of the Graduate Faculty.