Dogecoin co-founder blames 'dangerous' capitalism, 'won't return' to cryptocurrency

Dogecoin co-founder Jackson Palmer on Thursday said he will not be returning to cryptocurrency, calling it "an inherently right-wing, hyper-capitalistic technology."

Palmer and co-founder Billy Markus created the coin based on a popular meme as a joke in 2013. In April of this year, it saw a more than 500% price surge due in part to attention from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, making Dogecoin a household name — for crypto investors, at least.

"After years of studying it, I believe that cryptocurrency is an inherently right-wing, hyper-capitalistic technology built primarily to amplify the wealth of its proponents through a combination of tax avoidance, diminished regulatory oversight and artificially enforced scarcity," Palmer wrote.

He said that despite "claims" that cryptocurrency is decentralized, meaning it is not controlled by a central bank or authority, "the cryptocurrency industry is controlled by a powerful cartel of wealthy figures who, with time, have evolved to incorporate many of the same institutions tied to the existing centralized financial system they supposedly set out to replace."

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Palmer likened the industry to a "cult-like ‘get rich quick’ funnel designed to extract new money from the financially desperate and naive" and help "those at the top" make "profiteering more efficient."

Palmer went on to describe what he believes to be an unfair system for average investors. 

"Lose your savings account password? Your fault. Fall victim to a scam? Your fault. Billionaires manipulating markets? They’re geniuses," he tweeted. "This is the type of dangerous ‘free for all’ capitalism cryptocurrency was unfortunately architected to facilitate since its inception."

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Palmer went on to explain that because crypto investors are sensitive to "modest critique," on top of everything else, he is "no longer" willing to "engage in public discussion regarding cryptocurrency," adding, however, that he applauds "those with the energy to continue asking the hard questions."

Reactions to the Dogecoin co-founder's thread were mixed. Palmer posted his thoughts the same day film director Spike Lee released an advertisement praising Bitcoin as a currency that everyone can take part in. 

"Old money is not going to pick us up; it pushes us down. The digital rebellion is here," Lee says in the ad.

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Dogecoin, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies remain unregulated within the U.S. financial system. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R- Wyo., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have both made calls to regulate digital currencies, but the relatively new and complex subject of cryptocurrency policy is not a very popular one among their colleagues. 

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Congressional hearings about crypto, however, have been ramping up in recent months. Most recently, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on digital currencies on June 9.

FOX Business' Talia Kaplan contributed to this report.