Dogecoin co-creator Jackson Palmer said there was no way he would ever put money into cryptocurrency calling it “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”.

He said that despite claims of 'decentralisation', the cryptocurrency industry is controlled by a powerful cartel of wealthy figures who, with time, have evolved to incorporate many of the same institutions tied to the existing centralised financial system they supposedly set out to replace.

Palmer said that the cryptocurrency industry uses a network of shady business connections, bought influencers and pay-for-play media outlets to perpetuate a cult-like 'get rich quick' funnel designed to extract new money from the financially desperate and naive.

He said that while financial exploitation undoubtedly existed before cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency is purpose-built to make the funnel of profiteering more efficient for those at the top and less safeguarded for the vulnerable.

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 called on people to continue asking the hard questions and applying the lens of rigorous scepticism all technology should be subject to.

“New technology can make the world a better place, but not when decoupled from its inherent politics or societal consequences."

This is not the first time Palmer's first time spoke out against crypto. When Dogecoin soared to $2 billion in 2018, he wrote an op-ed on Vice, saying 'something is "very wrong".

Palmer and his co-founder, Billy Markus, created Dogecoin in 2013 as a "joke" currency as alternative cryptocurrencies flooded the market, promising to be the next big thing... It is now valued at $25.8 billion.

Palmer and Markus are no longer part of Dogecoin. Both left in 2015 after deciding that the cryptocurrency was not aligned with their values.

Meanwhile, Anthony Di Iorio, a co-founder of the Ethereum network, says he's done with the cryptocurrency world, partially because of personal safety concerns.

Di Iorio, 48, has had a security team since 2017, with someone travelling with or meeting him wherever he goes. In the coming weeks, he plans to sell Decentral - maker of Jaxx, a digital asset wallet - and refocus on philanthropy and other ventures not related to crypto.

The Canadian expects to sever ties in time with other startups he is involved with and doesn't plan on funding any more blockchain projects.

"It's got a risk profile that I am not too enthused about", said Di Iorio, who declined to disclose his cryptocurrency holdings or net worth. "I don't feel necessarily safe in this space. If I was focused on larger problems, I think I'd be safer."

He was for a time chief digital officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange. In February 2018, Forbes estimated his net worth was as high as $1 billion. Ether's price has more than doubled since then.