CryptoThe colonialist mindset is taking hold in many developing countries. It’s a new breed of crypto

Crypto colonialism is a new breed of wealthy individuals that have amassed a fortune through cryptocurrency trading and mining that seek to re-domicile for advantageous tax treatment while unleashing their newfound resources for purported positive impact. The term crypto-colonialism isn’t new. It was coined 18 years ago by Michael Herzfeld but had nothing to do with cryptocurrencies.  Crypto-colonialism originally referred to countries, such as Greece and Thailand, seeking to acquire political independence at the expense of massive economic dependence.

The researcher says that the crypto space might be suffering from a colonialist mindset. It may not be the decentralized, equal-investment opportunity people think it is. And the problem might not be limited to cryptocurrencies themselves, but to the entire ecosystem that includes NFTs, metaverse, and gaming. The vast crypto world which includes blockchain, digital currencies, non-fungible tokens, metaverse, and Web3 has what researchers call a colonialist mindset that says relies on central entities and low-paid workers.

Crypto colonization:

The world of crypto relies on central entities and low-paid workers, one critic says. The laborers, like some artists behind collections of digital tokens called NFTs, are paid less than their fair share of the profits

One of the key tenets of crypto is that it's "decentralized," as in no single person, company, or government is in control. But that may just be a ruse, as we have seen the centralization of so much of the theoretically decentralized stuff,"

The researcher pointed out that NFT exchanges, where buyers and sellers can trade digital collectibles, as another example of centralization. If the market were truly decentralized, it should be easy for people to sell non-fungible tokens on their own.

Critics say many developing countries are in crypto-colonialism:

Blockchain and crypto technologies carry a well-cultivated individualism. Crypto-colonialism is the act of coordinated groups of tech, which is often but not always generated by cryptocurrency investments, to settle in and exploit lands and laws favorable towards continued crypto activities.

Blockchain colonialism in the developing world advances with a humanitarian face, taking advantage of a desire for technological development and a regulatory weakness among developing world governments.

Crypto-colonialism leverages existing neo-colonialist tools like the economic policy but differs in that it also uses insular internet platforms to galvanize and coordinate like-minded individuals to enact their desires on land. The blockchain and crypto technologies in the developing world trace colonial histories, power imbalances, and the advance of western capital through technological abstraction.

The market has a colonialist mindset focused on planting flags and making money. In recent years, crypto has gone mainstream. The market cap of bitcoin and other tokens topped $3 trillion in 2021 before pulling back, while sales of NFTs surged past $40 billion.

People need centralization to be easy to use, and they need to be able to see what's for sale, and they need to be able to have nice user interfaces because they don't understand it. They don't want to understand it. They don't care for the most part, probably.