Hype is an affective, informational, epistemic, economic, and political phenomenon that unevenly distributes attention, capital, and technical resources to prioritize certain futures over others. When orchestrated by powerful agents, it can shape imagination and influence decision-making by investors, policymakers, and technologists at a global scale.

Since the 1980s, a cyberlibertarian, anarcho-capitalist agenda has been emerging around crypto technologies. Today, amidst the resurgence of cryptocurrency hype, exaggerated claims about AI, and the increasing market and cultural influence of charismatic Big Tech leaders, cyberlibertarianism—understood as an anti-democratic, technocratic, individualistic, and free-market radical ideology—is gaining traction. In this context, the cyberlibertarian agenda, driven by techno-economic infrastructures and cryptofinancial imaginaries, presents a growing threat to democracy.

This presentation examines how Sam Altman’s World(coin), a techno-economic system framed as a critical infrastructure for an AI-driven future, leverages hype (through both hope and fear) to advance the cyberlibertarian transition. By analyzing its political economy and conducting a discourse analysis of public presentations, advertising, and its white paper, the study highlights how this specific form of hype perpetuates visions of the future that pose significant risks to democracy.

Building on this case, the presentation introduces a hype assessment framework as a means to safeguard democracy. This framework offers regulatory bodies and institutions a novel approach to identify and address anti-democratic visionary statements and technologies. Furthermore, it opens new pathways for exploring futures literacy within this domain. The overarching goal is to deepen understanding of the anticipatory intersections between technological advancements, political dynamics, and democratic integrity while contributing to Technology Assessment efforts at global, regional, national, and local scales.