Information materialism intertwines two fundamental premises: physical substance, and semantic information (which organizes the former). Genetic code is an example.
In Protocol: How Control Exists after Decentralization (2004), Alexander Galloway notes (p. 111):
The “information age”—a term irreverently tossed and to and fro by many critics of contemporary life—is not simply that moment when computers come to dominate, but is instead that moment in history when matter itself is understood in terms of information or code. At this historical moment, protocol becomes a controlling force in social life.
(Alexander Galloway)
Once we understand the world can be approached through cybernetic means, the power resides in mastering protocol—that is, the mechanism controlling a distributed network.
Protocol is power. Without regards to protocol, decentralization will prove to be merely deceiving in achieving true autonomy.