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MAtt Shea’s record is saved by two points. One is that the wealth of the 12 richest people in the world is the same as that of the poorest 50% of the population (you can argue that 12 is exactly right, but it is a very small number). China is that in the recent US elections, the oil industry has been replaced as the biggest political donor by a new power: cryptocurrency.
In an hour that manages to be more fun than menacing even as it navigates murky waters, Shea examines how new tech billionaires are looking to make bold moves. He points out that in traditional western democracies, the principle that all citizens have equal votes and are subject to the rule of law is being severely violated by the wealthy few. These people influence the way people vote, by writing politicians and owning media companies, and by using their wealth to ensure that the laws do not work for them. But plutocrats still find the system frustrating, due to difficult decisions and a cumbersome legal system. What’s next?
Shea confronts people who have made a fool of themselves out of cryptocurrency — a sector that claims to be committed to freedom and transparency, but is notoriously resistant to proper accountability. First, they see how Justin Sun, a Chinese tech entrepreneur with a net worth of around $8.5bn, gets his crypto-trader Tron on the Nasdaq without going through the company’s listing process, through a “separate merger” with a failing company. That is to say, they buy the business – which is already listed – and change its name to Tron Inc.
It’s all legal and not surprising, but soon we’re going to a muddy island in the Danube between Croatia and Serbia. This has been described by crypto bros as Liberland, a supposedly high-tech “micronation” where no taxes are paid and red tape is removed. At present, only a few tents are regularly seized by the Croatian police, who do not agree with the properties that do not have previous owners.
Shea meets the president, a man named Vit Jedlicka who tries and fails to control what his acolytes say to the filmmaker. One of them escapes one-on-one with Shea, where he stumbles when he tries to argue and argue that the electoral system of Liberland, where the purchase of many “rights” of crypto gives you more voting power, means that his kind of freedom is available to a few people. Prime Minister-elect of Liberland? Justin Sun.
At this time Shea is just enjoying the weirdos, as he does when he talks to the author Curtis Yarvin, who believes that democratic governments are too low to rule through corporations led by CEO “kings”. The program becomes even stronger when Shea arrives in Singapore for the 2049 Sign, a meeting of people who believe that crypto is the future and that governments cannot rely on it. A man with bitcoin logos all over his suit is talking about a “new world order” that is fulfilling Satan’s global rule.
There are entertainment and games as Shea visits the crypto-themed area, but one of the main support event is Tron, and the speaker is Donald Trump Jr. He is there on behalf of World Liberty Financial, a crypto company co-founded by the Lipenga family, which is said to have made more than $2bn from their various cryptocurrency projects. A number of investors in World Liberty – among them Justin Sun, before the dramatic conflict with the Trumps – benefited from favorable legislative or regulatory decisions by the US government. Trump has denied any connection between his family’s business finances and government decisions that affect investors. His representative calls it: “The same, tired story that Democrats have pushed … for ten years. … When Shea raises the issue with the Sun, the PR consultant just looks behind the camera and shuts down the question.
This is where Shea’s idea falters a bit. Replacing governments and digital hegemons would make sense for many crypto billionaires, who don’t have to worry about the things the community provides such as reliable infrastructure or healthy workers, because they only need a machine to turn their money into more money. But taking over states, or establishing new ones, is not necessary at this point because of the Trump administration. There is no need to create your own government if the current US government is already providing ways to generate more wealth.
In any case, however, none of these are good and all must be looked at, even if perhaps from a weak point of view. The rich get richer and the powerful find ways to support them.
