{"id":34691,"date":"2026-07-17T04:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T04:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/balaji-threatens-malaysia-exit-as-network-school-seeks-legal-deal\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T04:37:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T04:37:27","slug":"balaji-threatens-malaysia-exit-as-network-school-seeks-legal-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/balaji-threatens-malaysia-exit-as-network-school-seeks-legal-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Balaji threatens Malaysia exit as Network School seeks legal deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">Balaji Srinivasan has paused further investment in Malaysia and is seeking a formal agreement with the government after authorities investigated his Network School community in Johor\u2019s Forest City.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_a80434c1f0d7727c505887c32717236e\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Network School pauses further Malaysia investment while seeking written assurances after authorities investigate residency claims.<\/li>\n<li>Malaysian immigration checks found all 266 foreign residents held valid documents, with investigations still continuing.<\/li>\n<li>Srinivasan says a $122 million expansion remains frozen unless Malaysia provides sufficient legal certainty first.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<p>The former Coinbase chief technology officer said he wants written assurance that the project and its participants are welcome before committing more capital.<\/p>\n<p>The dispute began after social media allegations claimed that Israeli citizens were staying at the community while using second-country passports. However, Malaysia\u2019s Immigration Department later said all 266 foreigners inspected held valid travel documents. Officials said further checks would continue if new evidence raised questions about identity, permits, or immigration rules.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Balaji seeks written deal with Malaysia<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Srinivasan said he wants more than broad statements supporting technology investment. In a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/balajis\/status\/2077723442166784206\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">video posted on X<\/a> and addressed to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, he asked for a document confirming that Network School can continue operating and investing in Malaysia with greater legal certainty.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Should the global tech community continue investing in Malaysia?<\/p>\n<p>Given recent events, I raise this question respectfully for the consideration of Prime Minister Yang Amat Berhormat Dato\u2019 Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim (<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/anwaribrahim?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@anwaribrahim<\/a>), for the people of Malaysia, and for our friends in\u2026 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0kvDSfF1z9\">pic.twitter.com\/0kvDSfF1z9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Balaji (@balajis) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/balajis\/status\/2077723442166784206?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d like to have a document which says not just abstractly that tech is welcome \u2026 but rather that we\u2019re personally welcome,\u201d Srinivasan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>He suggested that the arrangement could take the form of a memorandum of understanding or changes linked to a special economic zone provision.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>$122 million expansion plan put on hold<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Meanwhile, Srinivasan said Network School would pause further investment in Malaysia until it receives \u201csufficient assurance\u201d that similar disputes will not happen again. The decision includes a planned $122 million expansion of the community, according to reporting on his statement.<\/p>\n<p>He also warned that the project could move its capital elsewhere. \u201cIf not, then we will readily go somewhere else because I don\u2019t want to be where we\u2019re not welcome,\u201d Srinivasan said. Still, he did not name alternative locations or give a deadline for reaching an agreement with Malaysian authorities.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Immigration checks find valid documents<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The investigation followed claims shared by activist group Malaysian Protest 4 Palestine in an <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DamPOEzkToJ\/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Instagram post<\/a>, which accused Network School of hosting Israeli entrepreneurs. Malaysian authorities then reviewed the status of foreign residents at the Forest City site.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Immigration Department said its initial inspection found valid documents for 266 foreigners from 40 countries. Reuters also reported that Malaysia bars entry to Israeli passport holders without special permission but has no specific law banning Israelis who enter using another country\u2019s passport.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the document checks did not establish the social media allegations, while officials said further investigations could continue if new information emerged.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Network School faces new test in Forest City<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Srinivasan launched Network School in 2024 as a physical community for founders, technologists, and other builders. The project operates in Forest City, a large Johor development near Singapore, and forms part of his broader idea of internet-based communities building permanent physical hubs.<\/p>\n<p>As crypto.news reported in June, Forest City also hosted Q-Day, a blockchain security event where Srinivasan was listed among the speakers. More recently, he was announced as a headline speaker for Bitcoin Asia 2026 in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Balaji Srinivasan has paused further investment in Malaysia and is seeking a formal agreement with the government after authorities investigated his Network School community in Johor\u2019s Forest City.\u00a0 Summary Network&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34691"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34693,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34691\/revisions\/34693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}