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In this edition of the #rumor column, Dorian Batycka commemorates the centenary of the death of Bohemian writer Franz Kafka on June 3, 1924, by guiding readers on a literary expedition through the most “Kafkaesque” instances within the realm of cryptocurrency.
Picture a reality where you find yourself entangled in a maze of perplexing and irrational circumstances, powerless against faceless bureaucracies that possess supreme and indifferent authority. This nightmarish distortion of the world encapsulates the term “Kafkaesque,” inspired by the German-speaking Bohemian writer Franz Kafka. Through iconic works like “The Trial” (1914), “The Castle” (1922), and “The Metamorphosis” (1912), Kafka’s narratives have become fundamental texts in contemporary literature, portraying characters ensnared in existential dread and futility. Remarkably, these Kafkaesque themes resonate in the turbulent and sometimes dystopian universe of cryptocurrency, where the aspiration for financial freedom is frequently overshadowed by paradoxes and disillusionment.
Franz Kafka penned “A Hunger Artist” in 1922 and released it in 1924, the same year he succumbed to a severe illness leading to starvation due to complications from laryngeal tuberculosis. Kafka’s final tale revolves around a professional hunger artist who fasts for prolonged periods as a form of art, captivating audiences intrigued by his self-inflicted suffering. Despite his unwavering commitment, the hunger artist becomes increasingly marginalized and forgotten as public interest fades, culminating in his eventual demise.
This scenario mirrors the journey of cryptocurrency’s emblematic figure: the wojak. The archetypal McDonald’s night manager whose relentless pursuit of quick riches transforms into an unhealthy fixation akin to gambling. Consumed by the volatile and often isolating failures of crypto trading and investment, the wojak finds himself immersed in profound loss and disillusionment. What hunger symbolized to Kafka’s artist, cheap ramen noodles packets represent to the laboring wage slave aspiring to strike it rich on a Solana meme coin. Could anything be more quintessentially Kafkaesque?
Setting aside self-disclosures, let’s pivot to associate the term “Kafkaesque” not with the wojak loser, but with the original figure of crypto himself, Satoshi Nakamoto. In Kafka’s “The Castle” (1922), the protagonist K. grapples with an opaque and inaccessible bureaucratic authority; akin to Satoshi, Kafka speculates on the often deceitful nature of governments, asserting: “You mustn’t believe everything that officials say,” further noting, “I have my rights, and I shall get them.” Darkly surreal, K.’s ordeal in the narrative focuses on a “legal claim to live in the village” that the authorities deem “invalid, yet, considering certain auxiliary circumstances, he was allowed to reside and work there.” Through a perpetual cycle of miscommunications and bureaucratic nightmares, Kafka left the book unfinished mid-sentence, stating in a letter to his editor and friend Max Brod that the work was destined to remain incomplete.
In “The Trial,” Kafka portrays the arrest of the protagonist Josef K., an esteemed bank officer who is suddenly and inexplicably detained and forced to defend himself against undisclosed accusations. “Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K., he knew he had done nothing wrong but, one morning, he was arrested.”
Once again, we are confronted with the harsh reality of a system imposing repercussions on those attempting to revolutionize it, such as Satoshi, or even CZ, for that matter. The current lack of regulatory clarity in crypto, from the EU’s proposed legislation MiCA causing widespread confusion on the continent, to the perplexing state of affairs surrounding regulations in the United States, where both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have recently shifted their positions on crypto, underscores the Kafkaesque essence permeating the regulatory landscape of cryptocurrency to its very core.
Lastly, contemplate the concept of paradox itself, arguably the epitome of all Kafkaesque scenarios. Founded on the notion that two seemingly disparate realities can coexist, the evolution of the crypto market has generated a demand for regulations to curb fraud, safeguard consumers, and ensure market stability, often masked under the guise of anti-money laundering (AML) initiatives that starkly contrast privacy-centric tools like Monero or Tornado Cash.
Moreover, a paradoxical situation has emerged where the decentralized ethos of the crypto world has increasingly collided with the centralized systems that crypto sought to disrupt. China and Russia’s recent declarations to embrace central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) alongside pervasive state surveillance and control epitomize the paradoxical reality of entrusting crypto to authoritarian governments while advocating for encrypted financial autonomy, a truly Kafkaesque conundrum.
Kafka concluded in “The Trial,” perhaps his most influential work on the elusive nature of justice: “It’s only because of their stupidity that they’re able to be so sure of themselves.” This sentiment resonates with the contemporary concept of effective altruism prevalent in crypto theory, embodied in the ethos of convinced scammer Sam Bankman Fried, advocating a theory of scamming for the greater good in crypto capitalism.
At its core, cryptocurrency champions financial independence and individual sovereignty over one’s economic identity. However, as we commemorate a century since Kafka’s passing, it is evident that the crypto industry has adopted numerous Kafkaesque attributes. From the enigmatic persona of Satoshi Nakamoto to the humble wojak, to the unsettling realm of crypto scams and the dichotomy of decentralization and regulation, the illusory facade of autonomy serves as a poignant indicator of the inherent complexities and challenges within crypto. As Kafka once penned:
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