The Blockchain Socialist

Sovereignty for Sale w/ Atossa Abrahamian

I spoke to Atossa Araxia Abrahamian [https://www.atossaaraxia.com/], an independent journalist and author of The Hidden Globe [https://www.atossaaraxia.com/the-hidden-globe], about the world of offshore finance, special economic zones, and network states. We dig into her reporting [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/business/st-kitts-nevis-destiny-olivier-janssens-crypto-libertarian.html] on a proposed crypto enclave in St. Kitts and Nevis, the history and reality of these zones, and what happens when libertarian ideas about sovereignty and markets collide with real communities pushing back. The network state adjacent project is called Destiny and is being proposed by Olivier Janssens, a wealthy bitcoin tycoon, for the island of Nevis. Locals have felt deceived by its marketing and have even made diss tracks [https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1590554902128413] about it. This episode is sponsored by NYM [https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/903769/episodes/%20https://nym.com/pricing?ref=blockchainsocialist&ncid=blockchainsocialist&mtm_campaign=blockchainsocialist], the world's most private VPN. Unlike traditional VPNs, Nym uses a decentralized mixnet to scramble your internet data — hiding who you're talking to, when, and how often. You can switch between full mixnet mode for maximum anonymity, or a faster VPN mode for everyday use. Use the code blockchainsocialist [https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/903769/episodes/%20https://nym.com/pricing?ref=blockchainsocialist&ncid=blockchainsocialist&mtm_campaign=blockchainsocialist] when signing up and get an extra month! Timestamps 00:00 Highlight & Introduction 01:06 Sponsor Break Nym VPN 01:46 Meet the Guest 03:21 Passports and Offshore Worlds 05:56 Nevis Destiny Project Origins 09:40 SEZ Law and Local Backlash 10:39 The Destiny Pitch Video 00:08 Dubai Model and DIFC Courts 22:30 How SEZs Work Historically 28:20 From Factories to Lifestyle Enclaves 29:40 Bioshock and Body Mods 30:40 Managed Zones Not Free Markets 31:28 No Such Thing As Deregulation 32:52 Libertarian Influencers And Roger Ver 35:03 Why Not Just Use SEZs 35:50 Network State Factions And Thiel 38:54 Markets Logic Turns Colonial 42:20 Nevis Pushback And Colonial Memory 44:10 Passports Sovereignty And Mercenary States 47:00 Remote Control Citizenship And Land 48:54 Prospera Compared And Biohacking Drift 53:59 Network School As Adult Summer Camp 56:44 Closing Thoughts And Nevis Diss Track If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/theblockchainsocialist] starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist [https://twitter.com/TBSocialist]) or Mastodon (https://social.coop/@theblockchainsocialist Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/theblockchainsocialist] ICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It [https://repeaterbooks.com/product/blockchain-radicals-how-capitalism-ruined-crypto-and-how-to-fix-it/] and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree [https://linktr.ee/blockchainradicals] to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

MEV Is Broken on Ethereum — Can Encrypted Mempools Fix It? w/ Luis Bezzenberger

I spoke to Luis Bezzenberger [https://x.com/bezzenberger] of Brainbot [https://brainbot.com/] and core contributor to Shutter Network [https://www.shutter.network/], about MEV and threshold encryption for encrypted mempools. Luis comes from a background in distributed systems and has spent years thinking about how cryptography can level the playing field between ordinary users and sophisticated actors who exploit the transparency of public mempools. We dig into how threshold encryption works, why encrypted mempools like what Shutter Network is building, could protect users from front-running without sacrificing decentralization, and what it actually takes to get something like this shipped at the protocol level. We also get into the broader architecture puzzle — encrypted mempools PBS, FOCIL, and why Luis thinks these three pieces together form the holy trinity for censorship resistance on Ethereum. This episode is sponsored by NYM [https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/903769/episodes/%20https://nym.com/pricing?ref=blockchainsocialist&ncid=blockchainsocialist&mtm_campaign=blockchainsocialist], the world's most private VPN. Unlike traditional VPNs, Nym uses a decentralized mixnet to scramble your internet data — hiding who you're talking to, when, and how often. You can switch between full mixnet mode for maximum anonymity, or a faster VPN mode for everyday use. Use the code blockchainsocialist [https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/903769/episodes/%20https://nym.com/pricing?ref=blockchainsocialist&ncid=blockchainsocialist&mtm_campaign=blockchainsocialist] when signing up and get an extra month! If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/theblockchainsocialist] starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist [https://twitter.com/TBSocialist]) or Mastodon (@theblockchainsocialist@social.coop [https://social.coop/@theblockchainsocialist]) and join the r/CryptoLeftists [https://www.reddit.com/r/cryptoleftists/] subreddit.  Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/theblockchainsocialist] ICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It [https://repeaterbooks.com/product/blockchain-radicals-how-capitalism-ruined-crypto-and-how-to-fix-it/] and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree [https://linktr.ee/blockchainradicals] to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

Crypto and Stablecoins in Tanzania w/ Victor Muhagachi

I spoke to Victor Muhagachi [https://x.com/victorthetravlr], co-founder of NEDA Labs [https://www.nedapay.xyz/], building digital asset payment infrastructure in Tanzania and East Africa, about what it actually looks like to bring crypto to communities in this context. Victor grew up watching mobile money transform how people transact across Africa but also watching 15-20% of people's money disappear just in the act of digitizing it. We dig into NEDA Labs work on Tanzanian Shilling stablecoin rails and the experience of talking to regulators. We also get into the savings circle pilot they ran with the JUKUMU Hub, a local community space, and Solar Foundation [https://www.solarfoundation.xyz/] whom we had recently in a Bread Cooperative community call [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKZ2apsdJyM&]. This episode is sponsored by NYM [https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/903769/episodes/%20https://nym.com/pricing?ref=blockchainsocialist&ncid=blockchainsocialist&mtm_campaign=blockchainsocialist], the world's most private VPN. Unlike traditional VPNs, Nym uses a decentralized mixnet to scramble your internet data — hiding who you're talking to, when, and how often. You can switch between full mixnet mode for maximum anonymity, or a faster VPN mode for everyday use. Use the code blockchainsocialist [https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/903769/episodes/%20https://nym.com/pricing?ref=blockchainsocialist&ncid=blockchainsocialist&mtm_campaign=blockchainsocialist] when signing up and get an extra month! If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/theblockchainsocialist] starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist [https://twitter.com/TBSocialist]) or Mastodon (@theblockchainsocialist@social.coop [https://social.coop/@theblockchainsocialist]) and join the r/CryptoLeftists [https://www.reddit.com/r/cryptoleftists/] subreddit.  Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/theblockchainsocialist] Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/theblockchainsocialist] ICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It [https://repeaterbooks.com/product/blockchain-radicals-how-capitalism-ruined-crypto-and-how-to-fix-it/] and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree [https://linktr.ee/blockchainradicals] to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

Why he left crypto for AI w/ Nader Dabit

I spoke to Nader Dabit [https://x.com/dabit3], longtime crypto developer and educator who built at Aave, Lens, and Developer DAO, about what it felt like to be at the frontier of Web3 and why he eventually left. Nader spent years genuinely believing in decentralized social and censorship resistant platforms, and we dig into why those ideas haven't found their footing: the brutal difficulty of onboarding people, a culture that kept rewarding hype over substance, and watching the space forgive grifters over and over while builders burned out. We also get into the moment AI clicked and why late 2024 felt like a real turning point, what agentic coding does to the software engineering profession, and whether the crypto-AI intersection is real or just the latest way to raise money. And Nader shares some thoughts as a Palestinian American on why censorship resistance still matters to him even if the tools haven't delivered on it yet. This episode is sponsored by NYM [https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/903769/episodes/%20https://nym.com/pricing?ref=blockchainsocialist&ncid=blockchainsocialist&mtm_campaign=blockchainsocialist], the world's most private VPN. Unlike traditional VPNs, Nym uses a decentralized mixnet to scramble your internet data — hiding who you're talking to, when, and how often. You can switch between full mixnet mode for maximum anonymity, or a faster VPN mode for everyday use. Use the code blockchainsocialist [https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/903769/episodes/%20https://nym.com/pricing?ref=blockchainsocialist&ncid=blockchainsocialist&mtm_campaign=blockchainsocialist] when signing up and get an extra month! If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/theblockchainsocialist] starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist [https://twitter.com/TBSocialist]) or Mastodon (@theblockchainsocialist@social.coop [https://social.coop/@theblockchainsocialist]) and join the r/CryptoLeftists [https://www.reddit.com/r/cryptoleftists/] subreddit.  Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/theblockchainsocialist] ICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It [https://repeaterbooks.com/product/blockchain-radicals-how-capitalism-ruined-crypto-and-how-to-fix-it/] and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree [https://linktr.ee/blockchainradicals] to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

Collective action strategies in the age of AI w/ Nick Vincent from Data Leverage

I spoke to Nick Vincent [https://www.nickmvincent.com/], assistant professor of computing science at Simon Fraser University and author of the Data Leverage [https://dataleverage.substack.com/] substack, about what it actually means that AI systems are built on the collective output of humanity's digital labor and what we can do about it. Nick has spent years researching how data functions as a bargaining tool, and we get into the nitty gritty of what that looks like in practice: data strikes, data poisoning, and redirecting your data to competitors as forms of collective action. We also discuss the explosion of agentic coding tools like Claude Code, what they mean for software engineers and entry-level workers, and why the very thing that makes LLMs so powerful — their dependence on collective human data — is also what makes them uniquely vulnerable to organized pressure from below. This episode is sponsored by NYM [https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/903769/episodes/%20https://nym.com/pricing?ref=blockchainsocialist&ncid=blockchainsocialist&mtm_campaign=blockchainsocialist], the world's most private VPN. Unlike traditional VPNs, Nym uses a decentralized mixnet to scramble your internet data — hiding who you're talking to, when, and how often. You can switch between full mixnet mode for maximum anonymity, or a faster VPN mode for everyday use. Use the code blockchainsocialist [https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/903769/episodes/%20https://nym.com/pricing?ref=blockchainsocialist&ncid=blockchainsocialist&mtm_campaign=blockchainsocialist] when signing up and get an extra month! If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/theblockchainsocialist] starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist [https://twitter.com/TBSocialist]) or Mastodon (@theblockchainsocialist@social.coop [https://social.coop/@theblockchainsocialist]) and join the r/CryptoLeftists [https://www.reddit.com/r/cryptoleftists/] subreddit.  Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/theblockchainsocialist] ICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It [https://repeaterbooks.com/product/blockchain-radicals-how-capitalism-ruined-crypto-and-how-to-fix-it/] and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree [https://linktr.ee/blockchainradicals] to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.