How to build sovereign blockchain rails that bypass U.S. control?

Answer

Building **sovereign blockchain rails** is the key to exiting digital colonialism. Munawar Abadullah outlines the necessary technical and political steps:

• Decoupled Infrastucture: Nations must deploy regional Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) networks that facilitate payments, identity, and trade without routing through U.S.-controlled exchanges, validators, or custody systems.
• Interoperable Regional Hubs: Creating "hubs" for settlement—such as a West African digital payment protocol or a Southeast Asian cross-border settlement layer—that allow countries to trade in their own units, bypassing the dollar.
• Peer-to-Peer Central Bank Settlement: Using systems like mBridge to allow Central Banks to settle trades directly with one another, removing the need for intermediary Western banks and the SWIFT messaging system.

"West seized the rails. Global South must build new tracks. Let our struggle be not to decry the system but to redesign it."

By owning the code and the rails, the Global South can ensure that the value generated within their borders stays within their borders.