Funding worth $525 million secured for another urban venture supported by tech billionaires
Supporters of the "Network State" concept aim to establish privately owned, anarcho-capitalist, self-governing urban areas, analogous to how cryptocurrency revolutionized money. The ultimate objective of this tech-driven ideological movement is essentially a high-tech version of Galt's Gulch, the utopian society in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged that has long captured the imagination of wealthy tech enthusiasts.
One of the more prominent developments within this movement is the proposed city of "Praxis." Dryden Brown, the 28-year-old founder and CEO of the project, recently stated that the urban development plan aimed to create a "more heroic, more interesting place" than anything existing. Brown has his sights set on establishing his new city in the Caribbean, although he has yet to disclose a specific location, and details of the project remain under wraps.
This week, it was reported that the Praxis project had secured an additional $525 million in funding, with $500 million coming from crypto investment firm GEM Digital. This funding is being provided as part of a "drawdown financing facility," a type of loan where capital is disbursed once certain conditions are met by both parties. Upon listing the crypto tokens allocated to GEM on a public crypto exchange, the Wall Street Journal reports that the drawdown funds will be released to Praxis. Moreover, the project also secured an additional $25 million from financial lender Arch Lending.
Despite having significant financial backing, it's important to mention that Praxis is still primarily an idea. Brown, the project's champion, is an Ayn Rand devotee who left college, somehow landed a job as a hedge fund analyst, and was subsequently fired. It was during his mid-twenties that he decided his life's purpose should be building a new city. Despite limited accomplishments and an unconventional resume, Brown has seemingly lived a charmed life filled with extravagance, globetrotting, mingling with the 1 percent, and engaging in obscure business transactions.
Brown, with his unorthodox background, seems like a good fit for the "Network State" movement, which is teeming with individuals harboring grand ambitions but not necessarily anchored in reality. Another advocate for the movement is Balaji Srinivasan, the former CTO of Coinbase, who has recently established his own school aimed at teaching the principles of the "Network State" philosophy. "California Forever," an attempt to develop a privately owned city on vast swathes of Bay Area farmland, has also been accused of aligning itself with the movement.
The "Network State" ideology is preoccupied with cryptocurrency, viewing cryptocurrencies as the catalyst for the high-tech future it envisions. Such fervent, closely held beliefs give rise to optimistic pronouncements, derived from the Praxis website, such as this: "The next phase of cryptocurrency adoption, propelling us towards cryptocurrency civilization, necessitates the integration of cryptocurrency infrastructure into the core functions of society." Another: "Large, aligned communities in 'Network States' will utilize on-chain infrastructure to power their payments, contracts, identity, communication, and physical infrastructure." The political fervor exhibited here is indeed unique.
Although humorous in nature, this fanaticism is simultaneously disconcerting because those supporting this movement boast substantial financial resources, enabling them to influence the US political system substantially. The crypto industry has contributed nearly half of the total corporate funds spent on political action committees in this election cycle. With such substantial wealth, the crypto industry has sought to subsidize the US presidential election (while generously funding its preferred candidate, Donald Trump), while also targeting its political adversaries (primarily Democrats, albeit slowly leaning towards other sides).
In the future, the tech-driven "Network State" movement envisions utilizing cryptocurrency technology to integrate digital payments, contracts, and infrastructure into the core functions of society, propelling us towards a 'cryptocurrency civilization'. With their recent funding of $525 million, the Praxis project, led by Ayn Rand devotee Dryden Brown, is well-positioned to make significant strides in this tech-forward vision of the future.
