Stephen DeMeulenaere

Active with community currencies since 1990 and with digital currencies long before blockchain.

[Michel Bauwens @mbauwens]

It's not just the pyramid scheme, which was obvious, you can't 'explode' money exponentially from nothing, it has to come from somewhere; But is is also the competition that it was based on, the mentality it created. Of course, I also participated, just in the hope it would become true, because many of us are operating at levels of near-bankruptcy. But is is deep down not healthy to infect commons-based projects with competition for scarce funding (the promised abundance only comes from massive internal mobilization of the in-group, so just as in network marketing, you need to 'exploit' your own in-group first).

[Stephen DeMeulenaere @networkcoin]

@JupiterBlock @natesuits @devanshmehta @mbauwens Do you know this for sure? And, what he was building was very clearly to some, a pyramid scheme.

[Stephen DeMeulenaere @networkcoin]

@rizzn I am not sure that any of these people knew anything about what you knew about him.

[Stephen DeMeulenaere @networkcoin]

@rizzn Artizen has been going on for quite a while, and gained quite a lot of trust from some important people and organizations in the public goods financing and regenerative finance space, which lulled other people into thinking it was safe to bet their money that it would pay off.

[Marcel @MrJackisch]

@TheBlockCo @zachxbt over 20m USD missing. This might be mismanagement and SPOF only, anything else would be even more hurtful to all the people that have raised money for charitable / impact projects.

[Stephen DeMeulenaere @networkcoin]

@mbauwens Does anyone have proof of the medical condition? It could just be a ploy for sympathy. "That money was raised to grow Artizen. With operations ending, we won’t be distributing those additional funds." This isn't "life's work", it's a pyramid scheme.

[Stephen DeMeulenaere @networkcoin]

@petheth @regenavocado @Artizen The oasis was a giant sandtrap.

[Stephen DeMeulenaere @networkcoin]

@devanshmehta Asking people with minimal finances to put funds in now, with the expectation of a return in 6 months' time was already enough of a red flag for me. I don't blame anyone for trying or for hoping, it's sad that it happens again, and will continue to until the end of time.

[Devansh Mehta @devanshmehta]

Notwithstanding health issues from the founder, i genuinely did not expect such a dishonorable exit by artizen where creators spent months rallying fans to contribute only to realise it was all uncompensated labor without any bonus or match funding on top of community contributions

I used to proudly hold up artizen as an example of a PGF project that became stronger in the bear market unlike its peers from the 2021 era

However it appears that all their claims of millions raised in an endowment for creators were simply untrue if they can't even honour outstanding obligations before folding up

[marv @hellofrommarv]

Today's news of @Artizen folding is an awful shock. Funding regenerative projects has always been incredibly hard because people who most want to enact change often do not have purchasing power to match.

Quadratic & matching funding met this need, Artizen seemed to show promise but we're back to square one. Projects have been promised their funds back back without any of the matching amounts, and also minus the platform fees.

It's a damn shame, situation still ongoing. If you had a fund on there and a community that you rallied to the cause we need to document it all. @breadcoop @RegenCoordinate @gardens_fund @tdfinyourdreams @crypto4commons

[Hüseyin Dogru @hussedogru]

Big investigation coming out: Indonesia 1965 - How Germany armed & financed a Genocide .
Out: 30 September 2026

For months I have worked through more than 1,000 pages of declassified German archives on what many call the genocide against communists in Indonesia.

[Stephen DeMeulenaere @networkcoin]

@MarkJCarney We need new long-distance rail lines where feasible, and light-rail transit lines. We're wasting energy like No Tomorrow.

[Sen. Bernie Sanders @SenSanders]

Israel's election committee banned both major Arab parties four weeks before the election.

If it wasn’t already clear, Netanyahu and his far-right allies want an Israel where Palestinian citizens, 20% of the population, have no voice at all.

NO MORE U.S. MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL

[Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn]

Show this to anybody who still denies the genocide. 

These were all people's homes. Completely and totally destroyed.

These images should haunt those who enabled Israel's crimes against humanity - and we will never give up until there is justice for the Palestinian people.

[Felix Fritsch @FelixFritsch2]

I look forward to speaking at ETHis later this week!

> if you haven't gotten your ticket yet, HMU, I got some discount codes ready :)

[Collaborative Finance Gathering @cofi_gathering]

Have you ever been to a conference where the attendees set the agenda themselves?

It's called "Unconferencing" or "open space" technology and we're big fans!

We believe this helps attendees access the potential of the shared genius in the room and the moment where we meet.

[Crypto Commons Association @crypto4commons]

Curious about the forming WORLDPLAY network, the June gathering at Commons Hub, or future online / IRL / hybrid activities around radical play, parallel worlding and imagination infrastructuring?

Join our first open network call.

Saturday (May 16), 6pm CEST (link in comments)

[Stephen DeMeulenaere @networkcoin]

The Yin and Yang of money: can community currencies and the blockchain get along?

About my 35+ years in community currency work, the Collaborative Finance gathering, and his book 'Pathways to Regeneration' together with @thetokenjedi

https://t.co/YQxAEhdNbG