Crypto leader eyes revival of Malaysia’s abandoned Forest City as AI-blockchain hub

Malaysian authorities recently ordered the shutdown of Network School, a live-in tech-entrepreneur commune in Forest City, Johor, after licensing irregularities and a probe into foreign participants. The campus, originally launched by former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan, now sits vacant in the $100 billion “ghost city” development. Jeff Yew, 32, who leads Monochrome Asset Management, told one outlet he intends to acquire the site and transform it into a hub for AI and blockchain ventures.

He cites Forest City’s existing infrastructure, tax incentives as low as 5 percent for qualifying firms, and its closeness to Singapore as advantages for consolidating the fragmented regional crypto ecosystem. Yew’s plan would prioritize Malaysian digital companies and offer incentives for relocation, though concrete terms have not yet been disclosed. Monochrome, an Australia-based crypto-asset manager, currently oversees Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds with roughly $127 million and $4.5 million Australian dollars in assets respectively as of mid-August. The proposal is still in early stages and not presented as a personal venture.