The Blockchain Socialist

Continuing the publication of interviews from DevConnect in Buenos Aires, I sat down with Kate Stapleton, a former member of Anonymous and privacy advocate, now able to speak publicly after the statute of limitations expired. In this interview, Kate recounts the origins of Anonymous in early internet culture, IRC, and the Church of Scientology protests, while challenging the myth of Anonymous as a single unified movement. For safety and clarity, she does not reveal her former online handles, some of which are now controlled by other entities that are best left unnamed.
We discuss why Anonymous ultimately lost momentum and the public apathy toward mass surveillance. We connect the history of hacker culture and cypherpunk activism to today’s crypto ecosystem, including Mr. Robot and the persistence of burnout and nihilism in the space. The episode asks a central question: did we learn anything from Anonymous, and what lessons still matter today for privacy, activism, and building alternative systems.
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 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) or Mastodon (@[email protected]) and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit. 
Support the show
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 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 to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

Continuing the publication of interviews from DevConnect in Buenos Aires, I sat down with Theo Beutel (academic secretariat at the Ethereum Foundation, researcher at Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau, University of Zurich) to reflect on attempts at democracy with DAOs. As someone who has worked as the governance lead at several DAOs, Theo had a lot of insight to share.
We discussed his recent paper Digital Democracy in Decentralised Autonomous Organisations, the role of academia in Ethereum and why plutocracy has largely dominated the DAO space. By and large it seems that innovation in governance in crypto has followed the needs of investors and not other classes of people. 
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 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) or Mastodon (@[email protected]) and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit. 
Support the show
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 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 to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

In this episode recorded at DevConnect in Buenos Aires, I sit down with Eugene Leventhal (researcher at Metagov, podcaster at Governance Futures, new head of governance at Octant) to discuss the current crisis in crypto governance. The general feeling is that governance has been declared dead, foundations are being pushed aside, and the decentralization theater is being abandoned now that Trump's election has lifted compliance pressure.
Eugene unpacks what he calls the "original sin of DAOs" (most were created purely for regulatory cover) and why most failed. But it's not all doom, we discuss the few projects still genuinely committed to decentralization, institutional interest in deliberative tooling, and why work on transparency and democratic innovation still matters, even as the industry pivots toward unregulated founder worship.
Links:
Bread Cooperative's Democratic Multisig webinar
Guide book can be downloaded here
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 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) or Mastodon (@[email protected]) and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit. 
Support the show
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 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 to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

Note that this is from a video essay published on YouTube here.
For over a year, I've been helping people send aid to Gaza via cryptocurrency because traditional banking systems have failed Palestinians. PayPal and GoFundMe freeze accounts, banks block transfers, and those that go through can take weeks or months. Cryptocurrency offers instant, censorship-resistant transfers that offer higher guarantees.
This comprehensive guide covers three methods for sending crypto (SimpleSwap, Revolut, and zkP2P), how to avoid tax complications when fundraising, critical safety tips to prevent irreversible mistakes, and everything you need to know about wallets, networks, and the OTC desk system in Gaza.

📖 Written Guide:
https://docs.fileverse.io/0x6a13c07622Cc1685E0a071c0d7b4Cdb41eBE24ca/1#key=alyL1ETXBR_r16AVQuDNArf8IbD5PJXoHIZq7pjh_J7kXsIkC8a-3cR-bdRQdPlw 

💡 Three Methods Explained:
Method 1: SimpleSwap - Buy crypto with your debit card and send directly. May require KYC verification.
Method 2: Revolut - Best for regular sending. Buy and send crypto within the Revolut app. Convenient but creates a transaction record.
Method 3: zkP2P (Zero-Knowledge Peer-to-Peer) - Best for privacy. No KYC required. Uses apps like Wise, PayPal, Venmo, etc. More complex but maintains privacy.

🤝 Support Ibrahim in Gaza:
Ibrahim has been surviving the genocide while supporting his extended family and local community. To send crypto aid:
ENS Name: casinoberlin.eth
Full Ethereum Address: 0xFe70d2Fe8a0cCce98fB595f0Ef98C1522d6310b6
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pulses_of_mercy/
Chuffed: https://chuffed.org/project/117754-support-for-survival-from-genocide
This is our verified collective wallet that we've been using for months to get funds directly to Ibrahim and those who need it most.

⚠️ Important Disclaimers:
I am not a lawyer or tax accountant—check your country's laws
Different countries have different donation limits and tax obligations
Cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible so be careful
Always verify everything before sending
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 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) or Mastodon (@[email protected]) and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit. 
Support the show
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 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 to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

In this episode I spoke to Jarrad Hope, founder of Logos, and Peter Ludlow, philosopher and research advisor at the University of Hong Kong, and co-authors of the new book 'Farewell to Westphalia.' In the book they detail the historical trajectory of nation states and what they perceive to be their failures as well as propose an alternative to Network States through Blockchain Communities.

We discuss critiques of traditional nation states, the potential of blockchain for decentralized governance, and the importance of transparency and privacy. 
This episode is sponsored by NYM, 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 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 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) or Mastodon (@[email protected]) and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit. 
Support the show
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 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 to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.