CryptoCity is one example of how Trump’s foreign policy is benefitting a venture-capital fueled private city and “network state” movement. The billionaire first backed the Seasteading Institute — an organization promoting ocean colonization — and then VC firm Pronomos Capital, an early investor in Próspera. In 2022, crypto investor Balaji Srinivasan took the tech-futurist and land-hungry movement to the next level, coining the idea of the “network state.” A network state refers to an online community that pools capital, forms a blockchain “nation,” and then crowdsources land and exploits legal exemptions to build para-national territories. This is because even small pockets of U.S. territory could pave the way for venture capitalist interests in private jurisdiction development under the “network state” rubric. Praxis is a particularly extreme player in the network state movement.

Source: New York Times February 22, 2026 06:57 UTC