Economist, former Greek finance minister. *Technofeudalism* (2023) argues that cloud capital has replaced profit with rent, and that platforms now own the ground on which exchange happens.
The move worth stealing. Distinguish profit from rent by asking who owns the terrain. A merchant profits from trade; a landlord collects because the trade cannot happen anywhere else.
Why it bites here. Most 'decentralised' venues are rent arrangements with a governance token bolted on. The test is not whether the contract is permissionless but whether an entrant can build a competing venue without asking the incumbent for access to its users.