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forklog.media What Is Technofeudalism?

Why “feudalism”? Technofeudalism is the hypothesis that digital platforms have reshaped the economy so profoundly that it is no longer capitalist. In such a system, power and wealth come not from producing goods but from the rent a handful of corporations charge for access to infrastructure they own. The feudal analogy is straightforward. In the Middle Ages, peasants worked land owned by a lord and surrendered part of the harvest for the right to remain on it. Proponents argue digital platforms are the new land. Merchants, developers and users depend on them much like peasants depended on estates, and hand over a share of their income to the owners. Who coined the term? The name most often associated with technofeudalism is Yanis Varoufakis — the economist, former Greek finance minister and author of the 2023 bestseller “Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism.” But viewing digital networks and platforms as a new form of domination emerged at least two decades earlier. In 2002, Alexander Bard and Jan Söderqvist described “netocrats” — a new elite of the digital society controlling information flows — in their book “Netocracy: The New Power Elite and Life After Capitalism.” In 2004, media theorist McKenzie Wark introduced the “vectoralist class” — owners of information transmission channels — in “A Hacker Manifesto.” In 2014, researchers Vasilis Kostakis and Michel Bauwens, in “Network Society and Future Scenarios for a Collaborative Economy,” proposed the concept of “netarchical capitalism” — a regime in which centrally controlled platforms organize user interactions to accumulate capital. They called it a “neo-feudal form of cognitive capitalism”: users create value, while platform owners monetize it. Economist Cédric Durand’s “Technofeudalism: Critique of the Digital Economy” (2020) has strongly influenced the modern understanding of the term. Political theorist Jodi Dean, in “The Grave of Capital: Neofeudalism and the New Class Struggle” (2025), develops the idea that capitalism is gradually giving way to a new system of power and dependency. Technofeudalism, then, is not one person’s theory but a concept shaped by years of debate among philosophers and scholars of the digital society. Varoufakis brought it to a wider audience and drew media attention to it, acting more as a popularizer than a pioneer. What are cloud capital and cloud rent? Cloud capital is a new form of capital embodied in digital platforms, algorithms and datasets. It not only extracts profit from user activity but also shapes preferences by steering attention and behavior through search engines, recommendation systems and other services. Wark would call this control over the “vector,” while Varoufakis describes it as owning the “means of behavior modification.” Varoufakis sees a fundamental difference from traditional capital. Factory machines or farm equipment are used to produce goods. Cloud capital produces nothing directly: it creates and controls the digital environment where people trade, socialize and work, and platform owners derive income from their control over that environment and access to it. This income is called cloud rent. For example, a developer distributes an app via the App Store, and the store’s owner takes a cut of sales and in‑app purchases. In the technofeudalism view, the source of these revenues is not creating the product itself but control over the digital infrastructure through which data and payments flow. Who are vassal capitalists, cloud proletarians and serfs? Varoufakis divides participants in the technofeudal economy into four groups: Owners of cloud capital — the proprietors of digital platforms and algorithmic systems. They control the infrastructure where shopping, search, communication and entertainment happen, and extract rent from it; Vassal capitalists — companies that produce real goods and services but depend on platforms. An e‑bike maker on Alibaba or a seller on Amazon hands part of their profit to the platform owner and ends up subordinate, even if formally still a capitalist; Cloud proletarians — couriers, ride‑hailing drivers, warehouse staff and other workers whose labor is organized by algorithms. They are paid per shift or task but do not own the platform or set work conditions; Cloud serfs — ordinary users. Every post, like, comment or search query becomes data and content that the service monetizes. Unlike employees, cloud serfs typically are not paid for this. “Every time you upload a video to TikTok, Facebook or Instagram, you increase the value of those platforms. We do this with our labor, our activity and simply our presence. So we are not just serfs. We are cloud serfs who create capital. And nothing like this has ever existed in history,” Varoufakis said in a WIRED interview. Is it really not capitalism? Not everyone agrees with Varoufakis’s claim that capitalism has yielded to a new system. Critics acknowledge digital platforms have radically changed the economy, but say that does not necessarily imply a turn to feudalism. One of the most detailed critiques comes from technology scholar Evgeny Morozov. In his essay “Critique of Techno‑Feudal Reason” and a Jacobin interview, he argues that advocates of the concept mistake features of contemporary capitalism for signs of a fundamentally new order. When corporations control platforms, levy fees, manage user data and dictate market rules, it is tempting to conclude: “This is no longer capitalism.” Morozov calls that conclusion premature. Capitalism, he notes, was never reducible to free competition and innovation. Big business has always sought to entrench its power, corner key resources and use its position for extra gains. Platforms like Google, Amazon or Meta do this in new ways, but the underlying logic remains. Tech giants continue to invest: they build data centers, expand digital infrastructure, develop new products, pour billions of dollars into research and hire hundreds of thousands of employees. For Morozov, this matters because these corporations do not merely collect platform rent; they grow and compete with one another. He therefore suggests viewing the platform economy not as a post-capitalist or feudal order, but as a form of contemporary capitalism. In his view, digital platforms have amplified longstanding tendencies of the capitalist system — concentration of power, market monopolization and rent extraction — without creating a fundamentally new way to organize the economy. What does Varoufakis say about Bitcoin? Varoufakis devotes a separate chapter to digital assets — “The False Promises of Cryptocurrencies.” He opens with a historical parallel. In “Utopia,” Thomas More pondered how to free society from feudal vices. Tommaso Campanella’s “The City of the Sun” argued power should belong to artisans rather than parasitic elites. The economist sees crypto‑enthusiasts as heirs to this quest for a fairer social order. “[Their] faith in the power of crypto technologies is as much a reaction to technofeudalism as the original Utopia was a reaction to feudalism,” Varoufakis writes. He says that after the 2008 financial crisis, Bitcoin inspired a wide range of people, but over time the “libertarian faction of the crypto movement” prevailed. “For them, the number‑one enemy was always central banks, which they portrayed as a kind of Catholic Church insisting on mediating between people and their sacred profits, while casting themselves as modern Martin Luthers, proclaiming a Protestant Reformation. Thus, a crypto movement that initially attracted both anarchists and socialists turned into an extremely volatile currency market where anyone savvy enough in the new blockchain technology minted their own ‘coins,’ trying to pump their dollar value before cashing out. Their ideological disdain for fiat, or state‑created, money turned out to be a ruse to issue their own fiat. By the time one bitcoin traded above twenty thousand dollars in 2017, the cryptocurrency’s early emancipatory aura had evaporated,” the book says. In Varoufakis’s view, the chief beneficiaries of the technology became the very institutions it initially opposed. He points to examples such as blockchain platforms from JPMorgan and Microsoft, and solutions from Goldman Sachs, Mastercard and Visa. “Instead of gradually leading us to utopia, cryptocurrency has become another instrument of cloud finance and an engine of cloud‑capital accumulation,” he concludes. Varoufakis calls blockchain a brilliant answer to a question “we have not yet formulated.” But if the question is how to fix capitalism or overthrow technofeudalism, he argues, it is not the tool for that. “This does not mean crypto technologies will never prove useful to progressives. If and when we manage to socialize cloud capital and democratize our economy, blockchain technologies will come in handy,” he allows.

blockonomi.com Bitcoin Price Prediction 2026: $GRUNTLE Pays 7,856% APY as BTC Puell Multiple Drops and DOGE Stalls

Bitcoin (BTC) mining revenue metrics have shifted significantly, with the Puell Multiple dropping to 0.74 as the asset trades at $62,982. This decline places the network in a historical accumulation zone, prompting analysts to revise their Bitcoin Price Prediction 2026 models as the broader crypto market navigates a $2.24 trillion valuation. Against this backdrop, crypto [...] The post Bitcoin Price Prediction 2026: $GRUNTLE Pays 7,856% APY as BTC Puell Multiple Drops and DOGE Stalls appeared first on Blockonomi.

cryptobriefing.com Thomas Tuchel praises Elliot Anderson as Manchester City and Manchester United circle with transfer bids

Tuchel's endorsement of Anderson amid transfer bids highlights the growing influence of young talent on club strategies and market dynamics. The post Thomas Tuchel praises Elliot Anderson as Manchester City and Manchester United circle with transfer bids appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

themerkle.com Metaplanet Acquires Siiibo Securities to Build Japan First Bitcoin-Centric Financial Ecosystem Under Project Nova

Metaplanet is not just buying Bitcoin anymore, it is building the infrastructure to distribute it. The Tokyo-listed company has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of Siiibo Securities, a licensed Japanese securities firm and pioneer of the country’s online corporate bond market, in what marks the company’s first major acquisition and the opening move of a much larger strategy. The deal, expected to close in July, transforms Metaplanet from a Bitcoin treasury company into something far more ambitious: a regulated financial platform with the pipes to bring Bitcoin-linked products directly to Japanese retail investors. Siiibo Securities Becomes Metaplanet Securities The post Metaplanet Acquires Siiibo Securities to Build Japan First Bitcoin-Centric Financial Ecosystem Under Project Nova appeared first on The Merkle News.

blockonomi.com Securitize Brings AAA CLO Fund to Solana as Ethena Plans $250M Allocation

TLDR: Securitize expands its Tokenized AAA CLO Fund, STAC, to the Solana blockchain network. Ethena Labs plans a $250 million allocation to STAC, backing USDe’s reserves. STAC was developed with BNY, which serves as custodian and sub-adviser for assets. Global CLO issuance tops $1.3 trillion, marking a major tokenization milestone for credit. Securitize has expanded [...] The post Securitize Brings AAA CLO Fund to Solana as Ethena Plans $250M Allocation appeared first on Blockonomi.

forklog.media Google Declines Participation in US Quantum Program

Google has opted out of the US federal program supporting quantum technologies. The company stated that the funding conditions could slow down the path to creating a useful quantum computer, according to Semafor. In May, the US Department of Commerce preliminarily agreed to allocate $2.013 billion to nine companies under the CHIPS and Science Act. The parties signed letters of intent and must finalize the funding terms. The list includes GlobalFoundries with planned funding of $375 million and IBM with $1 billion. The other seven companies are set to receive: Atom Computing — $100 million; Diraq — up to $38 million; D-Wave — $100 million; Infleqtion — $100 million; PsiQuantum — $100 million; Quantinuum — $100 million; Rigetti — up to $100 million. The US Department of Commerce stated that the program aims to accelerate research and production of technologies for the quantum ecosystem. Companies will work on various approaches to quantum computing, including neutral atoms, silicon spin qubits, superconducting systems, photonic technologies, and ion traps. As a condition of funding, the department must receive a minority non-controlling stake in each recipient company. The specific requirements that were decisive for Google are unknown. On June 10, Google Quantum AI COO Charina Chou noted at the Semafor Tech Summit in San Francisco that the corporation continues to work with the US government "in other ways." She mentioned that the government could better support the quantum sector through funding fundamental research. Google collaborates with national labs and academic institutions, and such research underpins more advanced quantum developments, she added. Chou also highlighted the challenging climate for attracting researchers from abroad. She emphasized that the US will need "the best talent from around the world" for breakthroughs in quantum technologies, while China remains "a serious competitor." PsiQuantum co-founder Pete Shadbolt supported government involvement in funding the industry. He stated that it is natural for US authorities to invest in quantum technologies due to their "profound geopolitical implications" and significance for national security. PsiQuantum is among the companies that received a letter of intent for $100 million. The funds are intended to address technical challenges in photonic quantum computing, including materials, single-photon detectors, and photonic packaging. In March 2025, China announced the creation of the superconducting quantum computer Zuchongzhi 3.0. The 105-qubit system is one example of the intensifying competition between the US and China in quantum computing.

bitcoinmagazine.com Metaplanet Acquires Siiibo Securities in Push to Build Bitcoin Financial Ecosystem

Bitcoin Magazine Metaplanet Acquires Siiibo Securities in Push to Build Bitcoin Financial Ecosystem Metaplanet is acquiring Siiibo Securities for 2.1 billion yen ($13.1 million), giving Japan's largest corporate Bitcoin holder a securities license and distribution platform to launch Bitcoin-linked investment products. This post Metaplanet Acquires Siiibo Securities in Push to Build Bitcoin Financial Ecosystem first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

cryptobriefing.com Ibrahim Maza attracts interest from Chelsea, Arsenal, and Spurs as Premier League clubs circle Leverkusen star

The intense interest in Maza highlights the escalating transfer market dynamics, where young talent's value rapidly appreciates, benefiting sellers. The post Ibrahim Maza attracts interest from Chelsea, Arsenal, and Spurs as Premier League clubs circle Leverkusen star appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

forklog.media BlackRock Updates Bitcoin ETF Application with Income Feature

BlackRock has submitted a Form 8-A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to register the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income (BITA) ETF, based on the leading cryptocurrency. The product offers access to the spot bitcoin market with an income-generating mechanism. The fund plans to sell call options primarily on its own IBIT shares, and occasionally on spot bitcoin ETP indices. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas suggested that BITA could launch as soon as next week. BlackRock filed an 8-A for the Bitcoin Premium Income ETF $BITA. That typically means launch in one week. So if I had to bet I'd say next Thur $BITA goes live. We'll see tho. pic.twitter.com/jvJY8yhslh— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) June 11, 2026 According to him, filing a Form 8-A usually signals imminent approval of the instrument. Previously, BlackRock submitted a fourth amendment to its BITA application, stating a sponsor fee of 0.65%, which is lower than competitors among bitcoin ETFs with a covered call strategy. BlackRock's traditional IBIT bitcoin fund has maintained a leading position since its launch in January 2024. As of now, the product manages assets worth $48.6 billion. IBIT Dynamics. Source: SoSoValue. Earlier this year, institutional investors filing Form 13F reduced their positions in U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs by 17%.

cryptobriefing.com Fars News Agency denies reports of US-Iran agreement, raising questions for crypto sanctions landscape

The denial of a US-Iran deal highlights ongoing geopolitical tensions, impacting crypto markets and potentially altering sanctions enforcement. The post Fars News Agency denies reports of US-Iran agreement, raising questions for crypto sanctions landscape appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

forklog.media On-Chain Data Suggests Bitcoin Miners Are Capitulating

The current ratio of the first cryptocurrency's price to mining difficulty mirrors patterns from previous bear cycles, according to an expert known as Killa. Source: X. He believes the capitulation phase is the clearest signal for accumulating digital gold. Killa suggested that the final low of the current Bitcoin cycle will occur later. He predicts this will happen amid a stock market correction, with the bear market bottom forming by the end of this year. Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, confirmed that the first cryptocurrency is trading at the cost of production. According to him, the average miner margin has fallen below 5%. Source: X. Edwards estimated the total production cost of one BTC at $61,200, with electricity costs accounting for approximately $48,965. When the market price of the asset approaches these levels, it often signals the formation of a long-term bottom. On May 29, following the latest recalculation, the mining difficulty of the first cryptocurrency increased by 1.72%, reaching 138.96 T. Source: CloverPool. In May, Bitcoin miners' stocks rose following Nvidia's report. The company announced revenue of $81.6 billion for the first fiscal quarter of 2027, an 85% increase from the previous year.

blockonomi.com Three Space Stocks Leading the 2026 Investment Frontier: Rocket Lab (RKLB), Planet Labs (PL), and AST SpaceMobile (ASTS)

Discover the top space stocks for 2026: Rocket Lab (RKLB), Planet Labs (PL), and AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) offer unique opportunities in the expanding space economy. The post Three Space Stocks Leading the 2026 Investment Frontier: Rocket Lab (RKLB), Planet Labs (PL), and AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) appeared first on Blockonomi.

news.bitcoin.com Hyperliquid Whale Holds 81% Short Book and $2.7M Profit as HYPE Bet Pays off

A Hyperliquid trader dubbed a “perma-bear” is running an 81% short book with a $2.7 million all-time profit, led by a $13.57 million HYPE short up $539,000, per analytics firm Nansen. A Bear That Keeps Winning Onchain analytics firm Nansen said a Hyperliquid trader (referred to by the firm as a “Perps Perma-Bear“) is 81% […]

cryptobriefing.com International Monetary Fund approves $8.1 billion loan for Ukraine despite missed benchmarks

The IMF's loan approval for Ukraine highlights the flexibility in international financial support during geopolitical crises, impacting global economic stability. The post International Monetary Fund approves $8.1 billion loan for Ukraine despite missed benchmarks appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

forklog.media Orbbec to Build 3D Sensor Factory in Vietnam

Chinese 3D sensor and machine vision solutions manufacturer Orbbec has begun constructing a production facility in Vietnam. The RVMC plant will be located in the Thuan Thanh Industrial Zone in Bac Ninh province. The facility will cover an area of over 100,000 square meters. It will produce 3D sensors and smart devices for international markets, with operations expected to commence in 2027. Orbbec aims to strengthen global supply chains and mitigate supply chain risks by manufacturing at multiple sites.

cryptopotato.com LBank Pay Expands to Support BTC, ETH and 20+ Crypto Assets, Launches 20,000 USDT Campaign

[PRESS RELEASE – Singapore, Singapore, June 12th, 2026] LBank, the leading global cryptocurrency exchange, has announced a major upgrade to LBank Pay, its integrated crypto payment solution. Effective June 11, 2026, LBank Pay now supports direct payments in over 20 major crypto assets, including BTC, ETH, SOL, DOGE, TON, and PEPE — removing the need […]

cryptobriefing.com Iran faces growing pressure from US blockade as oil revenue evaporates and crypto becomes a lifeline

Iran's reliance on crypto amid US pressure highlights potential regulatory tightening and market shifts, impacting global oil and digital assets. The post Iran faces growing pressure from US blockade as oil revenue evaporates and crypto becomes a lifeline appeared first on Crypto Briefing.