Can you imagine what a digital white ethnostate or a cyber caliphate might look like? Having spent most of my career on the inside of extremist online movements, I certainly can. The year 2024 could be the one in which neo-Nazis, jihadists and conspiracy theorists turn their utopian visions of creating their own self-governing states into reality – not offline, but in the form of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs).

DAOs are digital entities that are collectively managed without central leadership and operate based on blockchain. They allow Internet users to establish their own organizational structures, which no longer require the involvement of a third party in financial transactions and rule-making. The World Economic Forum has described DAOs as “an experiment to rethink how we connect, collaborate and create”. As with all new technologies, however, there is also a darker side to it: it is likely to give rise to new threats arising from decentralized extremist mobilization.

Today, there are already more than 10,000 DAOs, collectively managing billions of dollars and counting millions of participants. So far, DAOs have attracted a wild mix of libertarians, activists, pranksters and hobbyists. Most DAOs I’ve come across in my research sound innocent and fun. Personally, my favorites include theCaféDAO, which aims to “replace Starbucks” (good luck with that!); the Doge DAO, which “wants to make the Doge meme the most recognizable work of art in the world”; and the HairDAO, “a decentralized asset manager that solves hair loss.” But some DAOs take a more radical tone. For example, the Redacted Club DAO, rife with alt-right codes and conspiracy myth references, claims to be a secret network with the goal of “killing” the “evil Meta Lizard King.”

The year 2024 could be one in which extremists start using DAOs strategically. Policies, legal contracts and financial transactions that have traditionally been the domain of governments, courts and banks can be replaced with smart contracts, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies. The use of anonymous bitcoin wallets and non-transparent cryptocurrencies such as Monero is already widespread among extremists whose bank accounts have been frozen. A shift to completely decentralized forms of self-governance is just one step away.

Besides practical reasons that encourage extremists to create their own self-governing structures, there is also an ideological incentive: their fundamental distrust of the establishment. If you believe that the deep state or the “global Jewish elite” control everything from governments and Big Tech to the global banking system, DAOs offer an attractive alternative. Conversations on far-right fringe platforms like BitChute and Odysee reveal that there is a lot of appetite for decentralized alternative forms of collaboration, communication and crowdfunding.

So what happens when anti-minority groups establish their own digital worlds in which they enforce their own governance mechanisms? What’s at stake when trolling armies start collaborating via DAOs to launch election interference campaigns? The activities of extremist DAOs can challenge the rule of law, pose a threat to minority groups and disrupt institutions that are currently considered fundamental pillars of democratic systems. Another risk is that DAOs could serve as safe havens for extremist movements by allowing users to bypass government regulation and security services monitoring activities. They can also allow extremists to find new ways to fundraise, plan and plan radicalization campaigns or even attacks. While many governments have focused on developing legal frameworks to regulate AI, few have even acknowledged the existence of DAOs. Their imminent exploitation for extremist and criminal purposes is something that has flown under the radar of global policy makers.

Technology expert Carl Miller, who has long warned against potential abuse of DAOs, told me that “although DAOs act like companies, they are not registered as legal entities.” There are only a few exceptions: The US states of Wyoming, Vermont and Tennessee have passed laws to legally recognize DAOs. With no regulations in place to hold DAOs accountable for extremist or criminal activity, the big question for 2024 will be: How can we ensure that the metaverse does not give rise to digital white ethnostates or cybercaliphates?