There are 9 alien CryptoPunks, but only one CryptoPunk is hunting aliens.

Punk #3924, is held by Chris Lehto, an Air Force Academy graduate and accomplished F-16 fighter pilot.

Lehto gained prominence on the UFO research podcast circuit after the NY Times reignited interest in the UFO topic by publishing footage of encounters between US Navy F/A-18s and unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP).

Lehto leveraged his experience as a fighter pilot to dissect footage of alleged UFOs and speculate on topics related to the UFO phenomenon.

Like most UFO researchers Lehto was volunteering his time. Despite its potential importance, UFO research receives negligible funding.

• Mutual UFO Network is the leading UFO research non-profit. They maintain the largest open-source database of UFO sightings, dispatch field researchers to interview people who report encounters with UFOs, and coordinate media activities. MUFON operates on a budget of roughly $550,000 a year.

• The Galileo Project, a research institute operated by Harvard University, was established to search for "physical objects...associated with extraterrestrial technological equipment" using techniques compatible with "transparent, validated, and systematic scientific research." The Galileo Project has raised $2,000,000.

• The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) operated two programs designed to investigate encounters with UAPs and commission scientific research "extrapolating the physics and engineering of 2009 out to 2050, to determine whether or not the [US] can approximate the capabilities of...UAPs in a scenario where the UAPs might become a future threat to the US." The programs received $22,000,000 in funding.

• Meanwhile, over the last four years, A&E has created three television related to UFOs (Secrets of Skinwalker Ranch, Unidentified, and the Truth is Out There). A&E has spent about $25,000,000 producing these shows, assuming each episode costs about $375,000 to film.

We'll get back to how Lehto is using Web3 tools to address this funding shortfall.

For now, let's look at why Disney (A&E is a Disney subsidiary) spends more to advance research on UAPs than the US government.

At first glance, the lack of funding for UAP research is puzzling, given that the US intelligence community publicly assesses that some UAP cannot be explained by existing technology and threaten US national security.

"Look, the bottom line is, unidentified aerial phenomena -- many cases we're able to explain it away for reasons like visual disturbances, or weather phenomenon, or foreign adversaries and their technologies, or even our own experimental technologies, but what this report really underscores...is that there are a number of instances...where we've ruled all of that out. And there are technologies that we don't have and frankly that we are not capable of defending against -- based on those things that we've seen, multiple sensors, in other words, where not just people visually see it but where it's picked up on radar, where it's seen on satellites. And so, you know, it's an issue of national security." - John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence (2020-2021)

Ratcliffe's statement followed a landmark report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) designed to provide "an overview for policymakers of the challenges associated with characterizing the potential threat by UAP."

The UAPTF [UAP Task Force] holds a small amount of data that appear to show UAP demonstrating [instant] acceleration or a degree of signature management [i.e. stealth, cloaking]...We currently lack data to indicate any UAP are part of a foreign collection program or indicative of a major technological advancement by a potential adversary. We continue to monitor for evidence of such programs given the counter-intelligence challenge they would pose, particularly as some UAP have been detected near military facilities or by aircraft carrying the USG's most advanced sensor systems." ODNI - Preliminary Assessment of UAP (2021)

To date, most footage of UAP captured by US military sensor systems has been less than convincing; the military doesn't want to reveal its full capabilities (or, in some cases, the presence of US military assets over the territory of adversaries.) This provides "cover" for UAP skeptics.

However, we know better evidence exists. For instance, a complaint filed with the DOD Inspector General by Luis Elizondo, the former head of a DOD program tasked with investigating UAPs, referenced two "compelling" videos that haven't been released to the public.

Even if we didn't believe -- against evidence -- that UAPs do not pose a national security threat they would still be worthy of study. UAPs exhibit characteristics that can only be explained by massive advancements in our understanding of energy generation, propulsion technologies, quantum physics.

Take energy propulsion. In 2004, US Navy pilots and radar officers observed a UAP off the coast of Southern California perform maneuvers that require more energy in a single second than the US generates through nuclear power a year -- times ten. 10% of the US power supply comes from nuclear power.

So, again -- UAP are a national security threat and generate enough energy to solve the global energy crisis. Why doesn't UAP research receive more funding?

First, admitting the UAPs exist and are not directed by human intelligence would threaten governments by undermining the notion of national sovereignty.

Humans are the "top dogs" on Earth. We make decisions from an anthropocentric perspective. Nation-states sit at the top of the human hierarchy, only they can declare war, sign treaties, etc. Their power affords them the ultimate epistemic authority (i.e. what knowledge is acceptable and how it can be obtained.)

According to political scientist Alexander Wendt, nation states would abidicate this ultimate authority if they took UAPs seriously -- because it would be an admission that they may not be the "top dogs" on Earth.

The UFO taboo...is explained by the functional imperatives of anthropocentric sovereignty, which cannot decide a UFO exception to anthropocentrism while preserving the ability to make such a decision.

Colonel John B. Alexander explains the political difficulty of authorizing significant funding for UAP research; the US has many critical defense programs, which one would policymakers axe to research an opaque phenomenon with no concrete timeline for a meaningful breakthrough?

[The] Manhattan [Project] today would be $23 billion...OK, so what are you going to give up for $23 billion? Because you are going to have to trade some programs. in order to do that, you have got to get users convinced [and get them] to put out a requirement that says 'we absolutely need this.' And they have to prioritize all the things that they need...and $23 billion would be a very high priority item...you've got to start by getting users out there saying, 'We really need this capability" and not "Gee, it would be nice if we had it.' Because if they say: 'We need this' you have to say: 'What are you not going to build in its place.?'

As I mentioned earlier, the US government has very compelling evidence of the UAP phenomenon that they choose not to declassify. Why not?

First, declassifying footage taken by "highly sensitive platforms" in "denied areas" would reveal the capabilities of our most advanced sensor systems (as well as their presence in places where they shouldn't be.)

Second, regardless of what UAP "are", the US government doesn't want to disclose the extent of their knowledge of UAP for strategic reasons.

By adopting strategic ambiguity, the US keeps its adversaries guessing about the nature of its capabilities related to UAP.

Specifically, the US has demonstrated that it has had the capability to track UAPs for decades without disclosing the extent to which it understands them -- the "fuck around and find out" strategy.

Hey Vlad/Xi, so for the last 14 years (probably longer) we've had the capability of tracking these strange craft that don't seem to obey the laws of physics and have a decisive advantage over all known weapons systems. They produce enough energy in one second to replace all of our nuclear reactors -- times ten. Oh, we've also been spending money trying to understand, reproduce, and defend against this technology. Some of our scientists say we may be reverse engineering materials recovered from these craft. So, we're not going to say what we have, but do you really want to cross one our red lines and find out?

As a result, research organizations like the Galileo Project at Harvard have emerged to "cut out the middleman" by using citizen-operated systems to capture and analyze potentially UAP-related data.

So, UAP research could be a tremendous...public good...but the ROI is unclear and its been stigmatized by the government

If only there was a new approach to getting communities to fund and engage scientific research on cutting-edge topics that have been stigmatized by the government!

Decentralized Science (DeSci) is an emerging discipline that seeks to advance "open science" by building tools for scientific communities to direct, fund, and execute scientific research.

DeSci communities have funded everything from research into psychedelics (PsyDAO) to breakthrough pharmaceuticals (Molecule).

This brings us back to Chris Lehto, the fighter pilot Cryptopunk. Lehto started Alien Dreams Genesis, a UAP-focused DeSci community.

10,042 artificial intelligence / human-created NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain will fund Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) detectors. We put UFO detectors on land and in space.

Alien Dreams Genesis Collection [ADGC] is your ticket to help propel the world’s transition to a deeper awareness and understanding of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).

Project royalties go to NFT holders (50%) and fund the science initiatives (50%).

Collectors get access to a vibrant Discord community where members share news developments, discuss theories, recollect personal experiences, and vote on proposals to fund UAP research.

Disclosure: I’ve purchased an ADGC NFT but this article should not be interpreted as an encouragement to purchase one.

Cover Photo credit: brantly.eth

There are 9 alien CryptoPunks, but only one CryptoPunk is hunting aliens.

Punk #3924, is held by Chris Lehto, an Air Force Academy graduate and accomplished F-16 fighter pilot.

Lehto gained prominence on the UFO research podcast circuit after the NY Times reignited interest in the UFO topic by publishing footage of encounters between US Navy F/A-18s and unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP).

Lehto leveraged his experience as a fighter pilot to dissect footage of alleged UFOs and speculate on topics related to the UFO phenomenon.

Like most UFO researchers Lehto was volunteering his time. Despite its potential importance, UFO research receives negligible funding.

• Mutual UFO Network is the leading UFO research non-profit. They maintain the largest open-source database of UFO sightings, dispatch field researchers to interview people who report encounters with UFOs, and coordinate media activities. MUFON operates on a budget of roughly $550,000 a year.

• The Galileo Project, a research institute operated by Harvard University, was established to search for "physical objects...associated with extraterrestrial technological equipment" using techniques compatible with "transparent, validated, and systematic scientific research." The Galileo Project has raised $2,000,000.

• The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) operated two programs designed to investigate encounters with UAPs and commission scientific research "extrapolating the physics and engineering of 2009 out to 2050, to determine whether or not the [US] can approximate the capabilities of...UAPs in a scenario where the UAPs might become a future threat to the US." The programs received $22,000,000 in funding.

• Meanwhile, over the last four years, A&E has created three television related to UFOs (Secrets of Skinwalker Ranch, Unidentified, and the Truth is Out There). A&E has spent about $25,000,000 producing these shows, assuming each episode costs about $375,000 to film.

We'll get back to how Lehto is using Web3 tools to address this funding shortfall.

For now, let's look at why Disney (A&E is a Disney subsidiary) spends more to advance research on UAPs than the US government.

At first glance, the lack of funding for UAP research is puzzling, given that the US intelligence community publicly assesses that some UAP cannot be explained by existing technology and threaten US national security.

"Look, the bottom line is, unidentified aerial phenomena -- many cases we're able to explain it away for reasons like visual disturbances, or weather phenomenon, or foreign adversaries and their technologies, or even our own experimental technologies, but what this report really underscores...is that there are a number of instances...where we've ruled all of that out. And there are technologies that we don't have and frankly that we are not capable of defending against -- based on those things that we've seen, multiple sensors, in other words, where not just people visually see it but where it's picked up on radar, where it's seen on satellites. And so, you know, it's an issue of national security." - John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence (2020-2021)

Ratcliffe's statement followed a landmark report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) designed to provide "an overview for policymakers of the challenges associated with characterizing the potential threat by UAP."

The UAPTF [UAP Task Force] holds a small amount of data that appear to show UAP demonstrating [instant] acceleration or a degree of signature management [i.e. stealth, cloaking]...We currently lack data to indicate any UAP are part of a foreign collection program or indicative of a major technological advancement by a potential adversary. We continue to monitor for evidence of such programs given the counter-intelligence challenge they would pose, particularly as some UAP have been detected near military facilities or by aircraft carrying the USG's most advanced sensor systems." ODNI - Preliminary Assessment of UAP (2021)

To date, most footage of UAP captured by US military sensor systems has been less than convincing; the military doesn't want to reveal its full capabilities (or, in some cases, the presence of US military assets over the territory of adversaries.) This provides "cover" for UAP skeptics.

However, we know better evidence exists. For instance, a complaint filed with the DOD Inspector General by Luis Elizondo, the former head of a DOD program tasked with investigating UAPs, referenced two "compelling" videos that haven't been released to the public.

Even if we didn't believe -- against evidence -- that UAPs do not pose a national security threat they would still be worthy of study. UAPs exhibit characteristics that can only be explained by massive advancements in our understanding of energy generation, propulsion technologies, quantum physics.

Take energy propulsion. In 2004, US Navy pilots and radar officers observed a UAP off the coast of Southern California perform maneuvers that require more energy in a single second than the US generates through nuclear power a year -- times ten. 10% of the US power supply comes from nuclear power.

So, again -- UAP are a national security threat and generate enough energy to solve the global energy crisis. Why doesn't UAP research receive more funding?

First, admitting the UAPs exist and are not directed by human intelligence would threaten governments by undermining the notion of national sovereignty.

Humans are the "top dogs" on Earth. We make decisions from an anthropocentric perspective. Nation-states sit at the top of the human hierarchy, only they can declare war, sign treaties, etc. Their power affords them the ultimate epistemic authority (i.e. what knowledge is acceptable and how it can be obtained.)

According to political scientist Alexander Wendt, nation states would abidicate this ultimate authority if they took UAPs seriously -- because it would be an admission that they may not be the "top dogs" on Earth.

The UFO taboo...is explained by the functional imperatives of anthropocentric sovereignty, which cannot decide a UFO exception to anthropocentrism while preserving the ability to make such a decision.

Colonel John B. Alexander explains the political difficulty of authorizing significant funding for UAP research; the US has many critical defense programs, which one would policymakers axe to research an opaque phenomenon with no concrete timeline for a meaningful breakthrough?

[The] Manhattan [Project] today would be $23 billion...OK, so what are you going to give up for $23 billion? Because you are going to have to trade some programs. in order to do that, you have got to get users convinced [and get them] to put out a requirement that says 'we absolutely need this.' And they have to prioritize all the things that they need...and $23 billion would be a very high priority item...you've got to start by getting users out there saying, 'We really need this capability" and not "Gee, it would be nice if we had it.' Because if they say: 'We need this' you have to say: 'What are you not going to build in its place.?'

As I mentioned earlier, the US government has very compelling evidence of the UAP phenomenon that they choose not to declassify. Why not?

First, declassifying footage taken by "highly sensitive platforms" in "denied areas" would reveal the capabilities of our most advanced sensor systems (as well as their presence in places where they shouldn't be.)

Second, regardless of what UAP "are", the US government doesn't want to disclose the extent of their knowledge of UAP for strategic reasons.

By adopting strategic ambiguity, the US keeps its adversaries guessing about the nature of its capabilities related to UAP.

Specifically, the US has demonstrated that it has had the capability to track UAPs for decades without disclosing the extent to which it understands them -- the "fuck around and find out" strategy.

Hey Vlad/Xi, so for the last 14 years (probably longer) we've had the capability of tracking these strange craft that don't seem to obey the laws of physics and have a decisive advantage over all known weapons systems. They produce enough energy in one second to replace all of our nuclear reactors -- times ten. Oh, we've also been spending money trying to understand, reproduce, and defend against this technology. Some of our scientists say we may be reverse engineering materials recovered from these craft. So, we're not going to say what we have, but do you really want to cross one our red lines and find out?

As a result, research organizations like the Galileo Project at Harvard have emerged to "cut out the middleman" by using citizen-operated systems to capture and analyze potentially UAP-related data.

So, UAP research could be a tremendous...public good...but the ROI is unclear and its been stigmatized by the government

If only there was a new approach to getting communities to fund and engage scientific research on cutting-edge topics that have been stigmatized by the government!

Decentralized Science (DeSci) is an emerging discipline that seeks to advance "open science" by building tools for scientific communities to direct, fund, and execute scientific research.

DeSci communities have funded everything from research into psychedelics (PsyDAO) to breakthrough pharmaceuticals (Molecule).

This brings us back to Chris Lehto, the fighter pilot Cryptopunk. Lehto started Alien Dreams Genesis, a UAP-focused DeSci community.

10,042 artificial intelligence / human-created NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain will fund Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) detectors. We put UFO detectors on land and in space.

Alien Dreams Genesis Collection [ADGC] is your ticket to help propel the world’s transition to a deeper awareness and understanding of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).

Project royalties go to NFT holders (50%) and fund the science initiatives (50%).

Collectors get access to a vibrant Discord community where members share news developments, discuss theories, recollect personal experiences, and vote on proposals to fund UAP research.

Disclosure: I’ve purchased an ADGC NFT but this article should not be interpreted as an encouragement to purchase one.

Cover Photo credit: brantly.eth