Think about it—99% of all internet traffic flowing across the globe travels through undersea fibre-optic cables. These thin strands buried beneath the ocean floor are basically the nervous system of the entire digital world, yet most people never think about them.

Here's where it gets interesting: as geopolitical tensions keep rising, so do conflicts over control of this critical infrastructure. Countries are jockeying for position, tech giants are laying their own cables, and the whole network is becoming increasingly fragile. Recent analysis has shown growing concerns about who owns what, which routes get prioritized, and what happens when these lines get damaged—intentionally or otherwise.

A new book is diving deep into these dynamics, exploring the hidden power struggles and vulnerabilities that could reshape how we connect globally. For anyone in crypto or Web3, understanding these ground-level infrastructure battles matters more than you might think. After all, without reliable undersea connectivity, blockchain networks and decentralized systems face real bottlenecks.