Crypto boss looks to transform 'North Korea-style' ghost city with less than 5,000 residents

If you go for a stroll around the streets, beaches, and malls of Malaysia's Forest City, you might be forgiven for thinking we're back in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whole neighborhoods reportedly sit empty, restaurants are shuttered, and when you look up at night, only a fraction of the apartments show any signs of life.

While COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis led to Forest City being declared a 'ghost town' in 2022, things don't seem to have changed much in the past four years.

Even though Forest City has gained international attention for its seemingly apocalyptic backdrop and claims that as few as 5,000 people live in this North Korea-style locale, it's never been completely abandoned and was also known for housing tech entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan's Network School since 2024.

What happened to Forest City's Network School?

Established by the former Coinbase CTO in October 2024 as a private co-living and co-working tech commune, Network School was designed as a 'startup society' that was based on Srinivasan’s 2022 book called The Network State.

Costing $1,500 a month for housing, meals, lectures, and networking with a promise of being able to "learn, burn, earn, and have fun," the membership-based residential community was quickly branded a 'cult'.

Following in the footsteps of other creators who've headed to Johor, Will "WillNE" Lenney visited Forest City for a 2026 YouTube video titled "I Investigated A Failed $100 Billion Ghost City." In that video, several people referred to Network School as a cult, while his team was denied entry to the campus.

There was concern from Malaysian authorities over the fact that Network School was never registered as an official higher-education institution, followed by allegations that the campus was harboring Israeli citizens. This would be an issue as Malaysia lacks diplomatic ties with Israel and its Israeli citizens are banned from the country.

In July 2026, Network School was officially given the boot by the Malaysian government over alleged ‘administrative violations’.

What's next for Forest City?

With a Network School-shaped hole in Forest City, one cryptocurrency boss has already unveiled his grand plans to occupy the now-empty campus. According to Bloomberg, Monochrome Asset Management CEO Jeff Yew wants to give Forest City a new lease of life with a new 'Malaysia-first' approach.

Just days after Network School was shown the door, Yew offered to take over the space when he tagged Srinivasan in a July 28 post and wrote: "I’ve love to help continue building the Network School in Johor...

"We’re developing a global crypto and tokenised futures exchange with a team across APAC, so a place like NS makes sense. I genuinely believe Johor can become one of Asia’s leading technology hubs. Let’s chat!"

When someone asked for an update on July 29, Yew claimed the pair were 'chatting'. This was backed up by Yew telling Bloomberg that preliminary discussions with Srinivasan's team have started, going on to explain how there could be local scholarship programs as part of a 'digital hub' for artificial intelligence, blockchain, and computer science: "It’s about a balance of attracting talent overseas and also nurturing local entrepreneurs."

Yew reiterated that for this Network School revival to work, it would have to align more closely with Malaysian interests.

It's said that Srinivasan's original plans included buying a landbank to try and expand the NS campus while operating boasts between Malaysia and the neighboring city-state of Singapore

As things started to unravel, Srinivasan tried to save the campus by requesting a meeting with the office of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, but as that never happened, Network School instead moved out, and he went on to announce a new site in Kazakhstan.

As for Malaysia, Forest City remains a blot on its ledger as it continues plans to become an inclusive and sustainable 'AI nation' by 2030.

Whether Jeff Yew can launch his own take on Network School, it sounds like it's a case of watch this (big, empty) space.