Co-founder of Dogecoin Jackson Palmer has addressed the cryptocurrency sector as a ‘right-wing hyper-capitalist’ tech system. He also stated that the industry is controlled by a “powerful cartel of wealthy individuals”.
In a vitriol-filled Twitter thread on Wednesday, Jackson Palmer, the co-founder of the memecoin DOGE, blasted the whole crypto sector and its investors.
Palmer, who invented the immensely popular coin as a joke in 2013, went on a rant in a lengthy thread about whether he would ever return to cryptocurrency; in short, his answer is a resounding “never.” He explained why he thinks crypto is right-wing and inequitable:
“I believe that cryptocurrency is an inherently right-wing, hyper-capitalistic technology built primarily to amplify the wealth of its proponents through a combination of tax avoidance, diminished regulatory oversight and artificially enforced scarcity.”
Palmer further alleged that a “strong cartel of affluent persons” controls the crypto business, which has “developed to encompass many of the same institutions related to the old centralized financial system they supposedly set out to dismantle.”
Mashable, a tech news website, called it a “Shiba Inu-sized dump on crypto.” Palmer went on to say that crypto isn’t user-friendly, blaming consumers for forgotten passwords and falling prey to frauds.
Is there anyone in this space more butthurt than Jackson Palmer? pic.twitter.com/DmWBDTrDk9
— WhalePanda (@WhalePanda) July 14, 2021
Palmer, who has remained relatively quiet throughout Dogecoin’s meteoric growth this year, took a shot at the technology, suggesting that it was designed to weaken consumer protections.
“Cryptocurrency is like taking the worst parts of today’s capitalist system (eg. corruption, fraud, inequality) and using software to technically limit the use of interventions (eg. audits, regulation, taxation) which serve as protections or safety nets for the average person.”
He admitted that cryptocurrency “doesn’t align with my politics or belief system,” and that he “doesn’t have the energy” to engage in a “grounded conversation” with those who are “unwilling to engage in a grounded conversation.” On his Twitter feed, he disabled the opportunity to reply.
Palmer declared in 2015 that he would be taking an “extended leave of absence” from the “toxic” world of cryptocurrencies. He told Vice in 2018 that his engagement with the Dogecoin initiative brought him no benefit.