0xBlixa

0xBlixa, the online alter ego of 31-year-old Paul, describes himself as a ‘venture capitalist angel investor in search of inner peace’. He lives in a residential area of Leuven, but his life and work mainly take place in the crypto world. Paul made a fortune at a young age and now busies himself daily with posting on Twitter (now X), his quest for new digital opportunities and the management of an investment fund that he set up with a few friends. '0xBlixa' examines the shady side of the crypto world: how people can get carried away in the desire for profit and how great the risks are. As a small act of protest, Paul occasionally takes trips into nature with his best friend and crypto buddy Matti, during which they attempt to survive offline without aids of any kind.

Gradually more and more cracks appear in Paul’s world. A tooth that needs extracting throws him into a downward spiral and confronts him with his own mortality. When on top of that a new wallet is hacked and emptied, the theft puts the relationship between Paul and his best friend under strain.

Van Meenen was inspired by surrealist writer Apollinaire and he calls his book ‘an experiment in adapting writing to the year 2023’. This comes through in his unique literary style. In short sentences that resemble tweets or WhatsApp messages, Van Meenen portrays a transitory online world in which speed and audacity are the main requirements. The eccentric writing style gives pace to the book and at the same time reflects the nervousness and fears that plague Paul. A hyper-alienating trip across the cryptoverse!