The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election swept over the nation with chaos and turmoil. The election mess, with alleged voter fraud, ballot tampering and the removal of Republican election observers challenged the notion of a fair and free election. On the Saturday after Election Day, when major news networks and the Associated Press <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-kamala-harris-presidency-called-media-outlets-election-2020-11" target="_blank">called</a> the presidential race for Joe Biden, disputes over the outcome with recounts and federal lawsuits quickly fended off the blue waves that were spreading in Democratic states.



In the midst of the increased tension, when the American people showed a vote of no confidence in the integrity of the electoral process, the bitcoin price <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/bitcoin-surges-past-15000-hits-highest-level-in-two-years-2020-11-1029772298" target="_blank">surged</a> to over $15,000, marking the highest mark since its all-time high historic run in 2017. Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder and CEO of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, <a href="https://twitter.com/tyler/status/1324416783042818048" target="_blank">tweeted</a>:&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">The rise of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#Bitcoin</a> is a referendum on politicians, governments, and bankers around the world.&mdash; Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) <a href="https://twitter.com/tyler/status/1324416783042818048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">November 5, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</figure>



Bitcoin, which came into existence in the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown, has shown steady development over the past 12 years. With an ability to “be your own bank,” this open-source electronic cash began to enable financial freedom. Now, as a contested election deepens a crisis of legitimacy, Bitcoin presents an alternative to the existing system of governance.



<h2 id="h-electoral-politics-as-system-of-control">Electoral Politics As System Of Control&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>



The disarray of the U.S. presidential election began to reveal the true nature of the political system that is presented as democratic. Electoral politics is a system of control, designed by wealthy elites to maintain their power — a representative form of government that is built hierarchically to fragment the interests of people within the system. This creates a fertile ground for identity politics.



The oligarchic class, which has no allegiance to any country, exploits people’s national identity, placing their interests in opposition to the interests of people who were born and live in other countries. Within a unit of nation-state, they further divide interests of each citizen into subsets of categories based on race, gender, religion and class. They then pit one group against another to make them compete for their interests.



By using the mascots of a donkey and an elephant and red and blue flags as props, those in power enact a political theater to create an illusion of democracy. Corporate masters behind the scenes, by pulling the strings of puppet politicians, corral the American populace into camps of Democrats and Republicans. Every election cycle, they successfully make voters chase after empty campaign slogans. From chanting “Make America Great Again” to “Black Lives Matter,” people fight to defend their loyalty to a group and be sucked into a rigged game that they are guaranteed to lose.



<h2 id="h-identity-politics-2-0">Identity Politics 2.0</h2>



Now in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/New-Digital-Age-Transforming-Businesses/dp/030794705X" target="_blank">the New Digital Age </a>where technologies are reshaping the world, this managed democracy is administered by technicians, engineers and internet entrepreneurs. The Silicon Valley tech giants, through their monopolies, have made the world population subject to their terms and conditions that restrict free speech and violate privacy rights.



The social media conglomerates, through algorithmic control, interfere with the civil process of nations. They are now working around the clock, social engineering “divide and conquer” to influence U.S. politics. Slogans like “Count Every Vote!” and “Stop The Steal!,” as pro-Trump and pro-Biden demonstrators levy, inflame hatred among Americans in cyberspace.



Facebook, which has now become the biggest social network worldwide with over 2.7 billion monthly active users, has been deliberately disenfranchising conservatives by <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/facebook-bans-stop-the-steal-group-after-calls-for-violence/ar-BB1aLFfn" target="_blank">banning</a> protest groups and deleting pages of Trump supporters on its platform.&nbsp;



Twitter, which <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/facebook-twitter-block-the-post-from-posting/" target="_blank">was accused of</a> suppressing stories about the Hunter Biden laptop scandal just before the election, now engages in outright censorship. In the name of <a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/election-integrity-policy" target="_blank">securing the integrity of U.S. election efforts</a>, this San Francisco-based social networking site flags content with a blue checkmark, removing information that criticizes and challenges the official narrative of “Biden, the president-elect,” as false and misleading about the election. During the heated battle to win 270 Electoral College votes, the company <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1324012341458075648" target="_blank">has deleted</a> Sitting President Trump’s tweets dozens of times. Recently, it also <a href="https://thespectator.info/2020/11/12/top-us-pollster-and-statistician-richard-baris-peoples-pundit-suspended-from-twitter-for-reporting-on-disputed-election-political-wrongthink-no/" target="_blank">suspended</a> a U.S. pollster and statistician who was reporting on the disputed election.&nbsp;



<h2 id="h-the-global-reset">The Global Reset</h2>



Now, as the election drama continues to polarize the nation, exacerbating a bipartisan controlled demolition of the republic, a transition plan is swiftly being rolled out. With the slogan of “Build Back Better Economy,” the media-anointed president-elect begins to assemble his cabinet.



Joe Biden’s new Pentagon transition team, <a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/joe-biden-department-of-defense-pentagon-transition-team-weapons-industry-military" target="_blank">drawn from</a> hawkish think-tanks funded by arms manufacturers, is gearing up to expand the military-industrial complex. With a new technology industry task force <a href="https://reclaimthenet.org/joe-biden-eric-schmidt-white-house-tech-task-force/" target="_blank">possibly led</a> by the former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, a roadmap <a href="https://www.androidheadlines.com/2020/08/eric-schmidt-ai-efforts.html" target="_blank">is being developed</a> for the implementation of AI technology and automation of a war economy.



While the system is going through a reset, new solutions are emerging outside of the electoral arena on the edges of the internet. The Cypherpunks, a loose online collective that builds liberty-enhancing software, provide choices for people to opt out of the user-subjugating global program.



<h2 id="h-individual-sovereignty">Individual Sovereignty</h2>



Bitcoin is a project of free software that <a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html" target="_blank">gives</a> users full control of their digital wealth. At the core of this technology is the value of individual sovereignty. It is the recognition of the individual as the highest power, from which all of its own power and authority are derived.



Bitcoin’s consensus algorithm, through the method of decentralization, allows each person to directly connect with and act out of his or her own self interests. The genius of its economic incentive structure that places the value of individuals over the collective, with a careful balance of risk and rewards, aligns the self-interests of all participants in a network without applying pressure.&nbsp;



This makes Bitcoin antifragile, preventing a fluctuation of the network that could become vulnerable to identity politics and manipulation, enabling the immutability of mathematics to maintain the integrity of the system.&nbsp;



Transnational corporations, through their commercially-driven globalization, have hijacked governments. They have subordinated the sovereignty of nations to their monopoly of the market that endlessly pursues profit at any cost. Through lobbying politicians in Washington, special interests groups pushed through neoliberal trade deals like WTO and TPP, shipping manufacturing and exploiting workers overseas with cheap labor, creating joblessness and ghost towns in America.&nbsp;



As their unfair competition created a race to the bottom, perpetuating wars, poverty and environmental destruction, Bitcoin offers a new game. Brutal competition of selfishly-driven individuals in a transparent and open market where rules are applied to everyone equally, doesn’t destroy a network. Instead it increases the security for the entire system, enriching everyone in a network.&nbsp;



<h2 id="h-innovating-future">Innovating Future&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>



Bitcoin’s truly free market, maintained by its users running full nodes that check and enforce the rules of consensus, has begun to create a new economy, through people coming together in freedom and engaging in a labor of love. Now, the rise of the bitcoin price continues to foster enthusiasm in people, creating new jobs and opportunities. The ecosystem that has developed around this currency inspires memes and art, creating a golden age of freedom of speech. Celebrating this coming of a new renaissance, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert, Bitcoin pioneers and hosts of a popular financial analysis broadcast, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUbMLl-VqEA" target="_blank">have launched</a> a new podcast, welcoming their audience into a hyperbitconized post nation-state world.



In observing the corruption of the American political establishment, Keiser <a href="https://twitter.com/maxkeiser/status/1327630624446967810" target="_blank">tweeted</a>:



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#Bitcoin</a> is ushering in a post-politics era Politics, the art of the social contract, has been obviated by the perfect governance code of BTC Sociology will also be obliterated as BTC creates perfect incentives and perfect outcomes The neocons will get mowed down&mdash; Max Keiser (@maxkeiser) <a href="https://twitter.com/maxkeiser/status/1327630624446967810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">November 14, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</figure>



<a href="https://t.me/orangepill" target="_blank">The Orange Pill</a> podcast that invites a new guest from the Bitcoin world every Sunday, now with over 14 episodes, is growing its viewers every week. It creates an interactive and participatory new media, in which Keiser and Herbert use their <a href="https://t.me/orangepill" target="_blank">Telegram group chat</a> to bring in Bitcoiners from around the world together to inspire and educate one another. 



While ideological conflicts and political divides of left vs. right now create more chaos, leaders of institutions and governments with <a href="https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/we-are-all-together-human-rights-and-covid-19-response-and" target="_blank">a message</a> of “We Are All in This Together” try to unite all nations under their single vision. As their <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/12/fauci-says-us-has-independent-spirit-but-now-is-the-time-to-do-what-youre-told.html" target="_blank">top-down solutions</a> homogenize diverse cultures and squash individual uniqueness, Bitcoin’s network of consensus created through each person’s voluntary association and mutual aid allows us to create a new world capable of embracing our differences.&nbsp;



From pandemic to economic crisis, solutions to the problems can be found by ordinary people working together to innovate a better future. Bitcoin, an autonomous network of equal peers, every 10 minutes strengthens unity in diversity, securing liberty for all and creating peace around the world.



This is a guest post by Nozomi Hayase. Opinions expressed are entirely her own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

“As a contested election deepens a crisis of legitimacy, Bitcoin presents an alternative to the existing system of governance.”

Politics

Donald Trump

Joe Biden

U.s.

U.s. President

Bitcoin Responds To American Vote Of No Confidence In Electoral Politics

Admin

Richard Kohl is a founding member of <a href="https://www.PikaPay.com" title="Send and Receive Bitcoin via Twitter" target="_blank">PikaPay.com</a>, a mobile wallet that lets you send bitcoins to anyone on Twitter. He is also a board member of the <a href="https://stichtingbitcoin.nl/en/home-3/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Bitcoin Foundation of the Netherlands" target="_blank">Dutch Bitcoin Foundation</a>.



From Holland with Love



The city of Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands and home to the world’s oldest stock exchange, established in 1602, has played a role throughout history as a safe harbor for new ideas. Now it may be on its way to becoming an important Bitcoin destination, and not only for its innovative Bitcoin businesses and its flurry of international Bitcoin conferences.



This past June Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem gave a Bitcoin-friendly report to Parliament. He said:



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">Bitcoin is not electronic money… At present its eventual impact on the real economy seems negligible…Bitcoin is not a financial product as defined by law. (Mediation in) the purchase or sale of Bitcoins is not a financial service either, so the Financial Supervision Act does not apply.</blockquote>



According to these statements Bitcoins are officially recognized as local currency without any special compliance or licensing requirements. As it now stands, trading with bitcoins in the Netherlands is legally no different from barter with sticks of butter, plastic chips or bottles of beer.



Right now anyone with a Dutch bank account can buy bitcoins online in real time without any registration process. Several Dutch services are helping users buy (and sell) with an existing payment system called iDeal. The purchased coins can be directly transferred into a mobile wallet called <a href="https://www.PikaPay.com" title="Send and Receive Bitcoins to Anyone on Twitter" target="_blank">PikaPay</a> that you can create just by signing in with your Twitter Name. (Disclosure: I am involved in PikaPay.)



Many other ingredients are in place to make Amsterdam a city with a lot of Bitcoin in its future. Source Forge ranks The Netherlands as country number 8 in downloads of the client software so far this year. This month Dolf Diederichsen decided to launch his startup <a href="https://bit4coin.net" target="_blank">bit4coin</a> in Amsterdam to benefit from the attractive atmosphere, and <a rel="noopener external noreferrer" title="Accept Bitcoin in Every Country" href="https://bitpay.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">BitPay</a>, one of the best-funded Bitcoin companies, has picked Amsterdam as the site of its European HQ. Both Mr. Diederichsen and BitPay CEO Tony Gallippi cited the regulatory environment as reason to establish companies here. “I believe there is a lower risk of regulatory overreaction here than we have seen in some other markets,” Mr. Diederichsen said.



Of course the banks are not all happy about this situation. On October 19, 2013 one of the country’s oldest daily newspapers, <a rel="noopener external noreferrer" title="Dagelijks financieel-economisch nieuws" href="https://fd.nl/cookiewall?target=2F" target="_blank" target="_blank">Het Financiële Dagblad</a>, published a critical article asking the government to regulate Bitcoin. The four main arguments behind the call for regulation were:



<ul><li>Bitcoin is digital money that can be used anonymously.</li><li>Therefore regulators can’t estimate systemic risk.</li><li>Thereby making Bitcoin a threat to the “stability and trust” of the current financial system.</li><li>Regulators should restrict “bad coins” (the ones they don’t like) in favor of “good coins.”</li></ul>



The authors of the piece, Bas Straathof and Remco Mocking, are both researchers from the <a href="https://www.cpb.nl/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Economische beleidsanalyse" target="_blank">Dutch Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis</a>, an independent policy research institution 80 funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.



The Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Henk Kamp, is a member of the conservative Freedom and Democracy Party (VVD), whereas Finance Minister Dijsselbloem is a member of the relatively more liberal and possibly more Bitcoin-friendly Labor Party (PVDA). The current government in the Netherlands is a coalition between these two parties. At least one of the opposition parties is known to be investigating its position on Bitcoin so that there may eventually be a number of different political perspectives on the cryptocurrency from which citizens of the Netherlands can choose.



While it’s unlikely that any meaningful steps would be taken on the basis of publications like the piece done by Mr. Straathof and Mr. Mocking, it does show a burning need for education and awareness at all levels of society. The Dutch Bitcoin Foundation, of which I am a board member, was recently created to help raise the level of conversation from “bad coins” versus “good coins” to something more substantial to help Bitcoin reach its true potential in Dutch society.



When researchers and policymakers begin to have even an inkling of Bitcoin’s deeper significance – more than “anonymous digicash created by evil hackers to buy contraband from drug dealers” – there’s a better chance that banks and governments of the world will start to get serious about cleaning up the global mess they’ve created.



Bitcoin is not a problem that needs to be regulated. To quote our Dutch Minister of Finance, “Bitcoin is not electronic money.” Bitcoin is a movement that has grown into a technology that is created by a community of the world’s best and brightest as a solution to that very problem of stability and trust.



—



Update:



A slightly longer form of Straathof and Mocking’s article has <a href="https://www.mejudice.nl/artikelen/detail/bitcoin-moet-onder-toezicht-afm-en-dnb-gaan-vallen" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" title="appeared on line" target="_blank">appeared online</a> (in Dutch).



A short (Dutch language) interview has also been published. In the interview they state, “It is unlikely that Bitcoin will ever prove to be a trustworthy alternative to national currencies like the dollar or euro because no government will guarantee it.”

Richard Kohl is a founding member of PikaPay.com, a mobile wallet that lets you send bitcoins to anyone on Twitter. He is also a board member of the Dutch Bitcoin Foundation. From Holland with Love The city of Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands and home to the world’s oldest stock exchange, established in 1602, has…

Regulation

Amsterdam

Bit4coin

Coins

Dutch

Netherlands

The Economic Singularity: From Holland with Love

The United States government just can’t quite decide whether to regulate bitcoin, or deem it a threat by declaring it a form of financial terrorism.



The digital currency regulated only by mathematics is now being seen by government officials as an emerging threat, possibly to national security.



<a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/bitcoin-terrorist-threat-counterterrorism-program-names-virtual-currencies-area-interest-1579699" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">According to IB Times</a>, a counterterrorism program being conducted by the <a href="https://www.cttso.gov/?q=vendors_about" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office</a> (CTTSO), a division of the Department of Defense (DoD), is seeking help from vendors asking for information on “state-of-the-art technologies” that could potentially pose a threat to the U.S.



Listed among hundreds of possible threats were the terms “bitcoin, virtual currencies, terror finance, threat finance and Dark Web.”



The program is reportedly being used to gain knowledge on emerging threats in order to develop response tactics should an act of terrorism occur. It is worth noting that Dollars or other reserve currencies are just as likely if not more likely to be used for terrorism than crypto-currencies. There has been no evidence that Bitcoin is being used for or has ever be used for terrorism. It begs the question, is the Government afraid of Bitcoin for it’s potential use for terrorism or for it’s potential to disrupt the status quo.



The government’s growing ambivalence toward bitcoin is especially hypocritical once you examine the scandals involving Big Central banks, ranging from murder to drug trafficking.



While the government <a href="https://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/sectors/item/16985-government-is-taking-steps-to-regulate-bitcoin" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">says</a> they intend to crack down on “untraceable flows of money online”, they’ve had no problem allowing banks like Wachovia to escape legal ramifications, including prison, for money laundering.



An early April <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/03/us-bank-mexico-drug-gangs" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">report</a> by the Guardian disclosed a summary of Wachovia’s involvement in supporting the financial transactions of drug cartels. The report uncovered billions of dollars in wire transfers through Mexican exchanges into Wachovia accounts.



Money laundered through Wachovia was used to purchase planes intended to transport large shipments of cocaine and fund weaponry.



The bank was “sanctioned for failing to apply the proper anti-laundering strictures to the transfer of $378.4 billion – a sum equivalent to one-third of Mexico’s gross national product.”



Charges were brought against the bank, but not specific individuals. The case was settled out of court with Wachovia agreeing to pay a fine of “$110m in forfeiture, for allowing transactions later proved to be connected to drug smuggling, and incurred a $50m fine for failing to monitor cash used to ship 22 tons of cocaine.”



Wachovia isn’t the only participator. Global Research <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/money-laundering-and-the-drug-trade-the-role-of-the-banks/5334205" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">reports</a> that HSBC, Western Union, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase&amp;Co, Citigroup and many others have been accused of failing to comply with anti-money laundering laws.



The government listing bitcoin as a potential terror threat is an attack on digital currency freedom. Yet the same government allows government regulated entities to get away with murder.



The public responds



Posts from Reddit.com reveal what some of the public thinks about the government listing bitcoin as a potential financial terrorist threat.



Reddit user “mikeydotcomdotau” <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1pdk4y/allowing_for_alternative_currencies_is_not/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">wrote</a>:



“Allowing for alternative currencies is not terrorism. It is a path to monetary reform, merely an application of principle of free enterprise to a sector that should have never fallen so completely to government control.”



Some Redditors believe the government could blame Bitcoin for facilitating terrorist attacks.



A <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/24djuo/bitcoin_terrorism_how_to_prepare_for_the/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">post</a> by “adamsol” entitled “Bitcoin terrorism – how to prepare for the historical defamation tactic” describes how the media could potentially demonize the digital currency by associating it with terrorist events, therefore seriously hindering its growth.



With Bitcoin undermining the status quo of centralized monetary institutions, rest assured this won’t be the last time the Government attempts to equate crypto-currency with terrorism. Stay vigilant!

The United States government just can’t quite decide whether to regulate bitcoin, or deem it a threat by declaring it a form of financial terrorism. The digital currency regulated only by mathematics is now being seen by government officials as an emerging threat, possibly to national security. According to IB Times, a counterterrorism program being…

Privacy & Security

Crime

Currencies

Terrorism

Government Lists Bitcoin as Potential Terrorism Threat

A group of Czech citizens has declared a new state, the Free Republic of Liberland, in a tiny 6-square-kilometer territory along the Danube River between Croatia and the Republic of Serbia. The Liberland territory is not claimed by either of these two states, which according to the group permits it to declare a new “microstate” in compliance with international law.



After the Yugoslav Wars, some borderland territories have been <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CroatiaE28093Serbia_border_dispute" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">disputed</a>, but this area has remained unclaimed. Liberland was created entirely in accordance with international law because it is based on the no man’s land which was claimed neither by Serbia or Croatia in the process of demarcation, InSerbia News <a href="https://inserbia.info/czech-proclaims-new-sovereign-state-between-serbia-and-croatia-liberland/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">reports</a>.



On April 13, 2015 a Preparatory Committee <a href="https://liberland.org/en/news/press-release-a-new-state-has-been-declared-liberland-21.htm/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">declared</a> the new state on the spot and raised a flag to claim the land. Vít Jedlička, who was elected by the committee as president of the republic, is preparing a constitution as well as diplomatic notes, to be sent to the two neighboring states and to the United Nations, and later to other countries, to inform them about the establishment of the new state of Liberland.



Creating a new micronation and getting it formally recognized is a daunting task, but Jedlička is persuaded that the initiative will succeed.



“The only thing that could stop us is an army,” he told Bitcoin Magazine. He added that the process to claim sovereign nation status recognized by the international community has started.



Jedlička is associated with the Czech <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_Free_Citizens" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">Party of Free Citizens</a>, a libertarian political party in the Czech Republic. The party is against too much government intervention in the economy and in the personal lives of citizens. Its members are free-market advocates and oppose the centralization of political power. In accordance with libertarian politics, the motto of Liberland is “To Live and Let Live.”



While BBC News <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-32332473" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">questions</a> whether Liberland is actually just a publicity stunt, the microstate is accepting applications for citizenship from people everywhere – provided they don’t have a “communist, Nazi or other extremist past.”



“The objective of the founders of the new state is to build a country where honest people can prosper without being oppressed by governments making their lives unpleasant through the burden of unnecessary restrictions and taxes,” states the Liberland website. “One of the reasons for founding Liberland is the ever expanding influence of interest groups on the functioning of existing states and the consequent worsening of living conditions of people. The founders are inspired by countries such as Monaco, Liechtenstein or Hong Kong.”



This sounds very appealing to libertarians everywhere, but the challenge is big. It seems likely that the powers that be could easily crush the new microstate as soon as they notice it. Perhaps the only thing that could protect tiny Liberland in its delicate launch phase is a massive display of popular interest. And, in fact, it appears that Liberland is going viral on the Internet, with tens of thousands of signups on its <a href="https://liberland.org/en/forum/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">Forum</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/liberland" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> and a lot of applications for citizenship from all over the world in only a couple of days. It appears that many people are ready to try alternatives to traditional politics.



The idea that Liberland could adopt a cryptocurrency, and make it official, is trending on the Liberland Forum and <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/32q2k0/new_european_libertarian_micronation_liberland/" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">Reddit</a>. Jedlička briefly <a href="https://www.parlamentnilisty.cz/arena/rozhovory/On-to-mysli-vazne-Vit-Jedlicka-zakladatel-noveho-statu-Liberland-promluvil-Zavadi-elektrinu-internet-vsechno-A-lide-se-k-nemu-hrnou-370917" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">discussed</a> the idea with the Czech press, and a participant in the Reddit discussion provided a translation. Jedlička answered the question “So do you want to create your own currency?” by stating that Liberland is planning to create its own cryptocurrency (a digital currency like Bitcoin), but on the territory of Liberland it will be possible to use any currency.



Jedlička confirmed to Bitcoin Magazine that Liberland will not have an official currency, but accept all currencies, including bitcoin and other digital currencies. There are plans to establish a Liberland banking system and, according to Jedlička, some banks have already expressed interest.



Perhaps the tiny libertarian dreamland in the Balkans doesn’t have much of a chance in the harsh reality of real politics, but the adoption of bitcoin as one of the currencies accepted by a sovereign state could have a huge impact.







Image via liberland.org.

A group of Czech citizens has declared a new state, the Free Republic of Liberland, in a tiny 6-square-kilometer territory along the Danube River between Croatia and the Republic of Serbia. The Liberland territory is not claimed by either of these two states, which according to the group permits it to declare a new “microstate”…

Digital Currencies

Anarchy

European Union

Liberland

Microstate

Newly Declared European Microstate Liberland Plans to Create Its Own Digital Currency

It was announced earlier this week that a significant group of prominent Bitcoin companies, individuals and institutions have united in a “Blockchain Alliance.” This alliance will serve as a resource for law enforcement to help combat criminal activity involving bitcoin and the blockchain, and has so far engaged with the Department of Justice (including the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service), the U.S. Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.




However, the Blockchain Alliance was not welcomed by the entire community.



One of the fiercest opponents of the initiative has been Bitcoin Foundation Executive Director Bruce Fenton. Shortly after the Blockchain Alliance was announced, Fenton took to Internet
forums
 and Twitter
 to voice his concern about the industry’s outreach to law enforcement.



Speaking to Bitcoin Magazine, Fenton explained why:



Bitcoin&#8217;s relative anonymity has obviously led to it being used for criminal purposes. Don&#8217;t you consider that a problem that needs solving?




First off, I challenge the notion that the American government has an absolute and irrefutable right to know all financial information and private records of every person within our borders. This is a relatively new idea, and it&#8217;s a very bad one. Some things are just not their business, and the fact that I&#8217;m a little afraid to say that out loud shows how sad our current state is.



As for criminal activity, note that something being a crime is not always a measure of morality. In some countries right now being gay is a criminal act. Even in the United States we once had segregation mandated by law. “Aiding a runaway slave” was once a crime&#8230; Would we have wanted to “partner with law enforcement” to track the blockchain for purchases made by escaped slaves?



Today we have laws related to asset forfeiture and federal prosecution of crimes which voters in states decided to decriminalize. These are actions by law enforcement that many citizens feel are immoral.



But Bitcoin can

also be used for criminal purposes that we probably all agree are undesirable. Extortion comes to mind.




Sure, Bitcoin makes some bad things easier to do &#8212; just as do shoes, phones and the Internet. But it&#8217;s unwise to punish technology and innovation rather than the actual harmful actors.



The Blockchain Alliance is established exactly to help law enforcers make this distinction&#8230;




But taking care of these bad actors is the responsibility of the law enforcers, not that of the innovations or the industry. Cars make it far easier for criminals to escape than by foot, but the technology of the motor vehicle and its industry has no responsibility for this.



The job of innovators is to innovate, not to catch those whom the state deems criminal. The job of law enforcement is to deal with new technology as best they can without harming or interfering in the lives of peaceful people who have harmed no other.



The Blockchain Alliance has no intention to conduct blockchain analysis, blacklisting, or anything like that. It&#8217;s just a forum where law enforcement can ask questions. Why do you consider this such a big deal?




Would the Blockchain Alliance be willing to put in writing a set of conditions under which they would break off ties with law enforcement? If not, then their stated intent is worthless.



Essentially every time any industry has had experiences with government which turned out to be destructive, it started with good intent. The Bitcoin community&#8217;s engagement with the New York Department of Financial Services, and the resulting BitLicense, is actually a good example of that.



These government organizations have poor track records and continually seek to expand authority. We even have blatant violations of the Constitution such as those of the NSA exposed by Edward Snowden. The very same agencies who seek to capture Snowden are now partners of the Blockchain Alliance&#8230;



Law enforcement will, eventually, figure Bitcoin out with or without the Bitcoin Alliance. Why not help them in the process, and build up some goodwill among regulators?




The job of law enforcement is not to figure new things out, not to be our friend, not to determine right or wrong, nor even to craft new laws or listen to logic &#8212; but to follow orders. Even if these orders flow from protectionist laws created by corrupt bureaucrats. And even if the banks and other special interests push for laws giving them a further competitive advantage over Bitcoin.



What about Bitcoin&#8217;s image problem? Bitcoin is often seen as the currency for criminals, at least among many regulators&#8230;




We seem to forget that this is our country. The regulators are supposed to work for us. I challenge the notion that they are “serving the public” here, unless they can produce evidence that a large number of public citizens are concerned about Bitcoin technology. They aren&#8217;t. No college students and grandmothers are lining up outside the doors of elected officials telling them that something must be done about “the scary blockchain.” Citizens are much more concerned about jobs, innovation and a competitive economy.



I believe we should first and foremost educate the public. Aside from educating citizens, we can also spend some effort educating lawmakers, preferably elected ones with some accountability rather than the unelected (Benjamin) Lawsky types.



But most importantly, we should take a page from the playbook of Uber and build something that&#8217;s loved by millions&#8230; then when the fat wrinkled hands of bureaucrats are raised with a signal to stop, the public collectively shrugs and ignores them.



As Bitcoin becomes more popular, not in the least among criminals, the trend of more and stricter regulation will probably continue. If you care about privacy, fungibility, censorship resistance, and these sorts of things, wouldn&#8217;t it make sense to focus on protocol-level solutions, rather than to fight regulation and law enforcement?




Definitely. The ultimate solutions are those of a technical nature. My goal in speaking about this is not to fight law enforcement or even regulation&#8230; but to simply question why it could make sense to work so hard to help law enforcement with a dubious mission.



I respect the members of that group a lot, many are good friends. I hope I&#8217;m wrong and it turns out great. Meanwhile, let&#8217;s all work together to build something amazing that changes our world for the better.



Photo Office of Public Affairs / Flickr (CC)

It was announced earlier this week that a significant group of prominent Bitcoin companies, individuals and institutions have united in a “Blockchain Alliance.” This alliance will serve as a resource for law enforcement to help combat criminal activity involving bitcoin and the blockchain, and has so far engaged with the Department of Justice (including the…

Blockchain

Blockchain Alliance

Bruce Fenton

Criminal Activity

Edward Snowden

Individuals

Laws

Bruce Fenton: Blockchain Alliance is a Profoundly Bad Idea

David Golumbia, an assistant professor in the Department of English at Virginia Commonwealth University, an aspiring political pundit, and the author of the recently published book, <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-politics-of-bitcoin" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">The Politics of Bitcoin: Software as Right-Wing Extremism</a>, denounces Bitcoin in a recent blog post titled <a href="http://www.uncomputing.org/?p=1826" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">Trump, Clinton, and the Electoral Politics of Bitcoin</a>.



“[What] concerns me about Bitcoin is how it contributes to the spread of deeply right-wing ideas in economics and political philosophy without those right-wing associations being made at all explicit,” says Golumbia, adding that the freedom and democratization offered by distributed ledger technology, able to resist interference by central authorities, are actually extreme right-wing concepts.



It is, of course, sad and disturbing to realize that aspirations to freedom are seen as right-wing extremism by certain sectors of contemporary “culture.” Golumbia’s book is promoted as “new scholarship” by the publisher — if that’s new scholarship, I’ll take old-fashioned authentic scholarship anytime.



According to Golumbia, the politics of Bitcoin and the blockchain are intersecting with the current U.S. presidential election. “There is certainly a fair amount of support for Trump among Bitcoin enthusiasts,” says Golumbia. “I do think that there are connections between Bitcoin and Trump.”



And where are those alleged connections? Throughout the vibrant, creative internet communities that fuel the development and deployment of distributed ledgers, along with many of the empowering technologies that are emerging, according to Golumbia.



“[The] kinds of false, angry, other-targeting ideologies on which the Trump phenomenon depends can be readily found in all the kinds of online communities that create and promote the frightening range of right-wing political action we see everywhere today,” says Golumbia in the blog post. “We should be very worried about Trump, and we should be worried about how Bitcoin and other parts of online discourse feed the hate and studied ignorance that make so many people support him.”



The book doesn’t mention Trump, but is explicit in condemning the Libertarian (or cyber-Libertarian) aspiration to personal autonomy, self-ownership and freedom — as much freedom as possible — from the power, greed and control freakery of overreaching central authorities.



“[In] the name of [Bitcoin], extremist ideas were gaining far more traction than they previously had outside of the extremist literature to which they had largely been confined,” says the author. “These ideas are not simply heterodox or contrarian: They are pieces of a holistic worldview that have been deliberately developed and promulgated by right-wing ideologues.”



This is not to say that Golumbia’s book isn’t well written. It is, in fact, a masterpiece of sophistry that carefully builds up subtly constructed distortions of simple concepts like “freedom” and “control,” in the hope of persuading the reader that real freedom can only come from a “benevolent” Big Brother that controls each and every aspect of life from the cradle to the grave. Sounds absurd? Sure it is, like those funny mathematical “demonstrations” that  prove 1 equals 0.



Of course, one can’t assume that all readers are stupid and totally ignorant of facts. Therefore, Golumbia is forced to concede that not all Bitcoin enthusiasts are extreme right-wingers. “I am sometimes asked to account for Bitcoin enthusiasm among those with explicitly left-wing politics,” he acknowledges in the book. But Golumbia finds it hard to see how the “minority” of non-right-wing Bitcoin enthusiasts can resist “the political values that are very literally coded into the software itself.”



In the post, Golumbia vents his frustration at the growing Bitcoin enthusiasm from the mainstream left. In the video of the Connectivity session at the Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Global Initiative 2016 conference, two speakers — former special assistant to President Obama, Jamie Smith, now Global Chief Communications Officer of the Bitfury Group, and Peruvian economist, Hernando de Soto — talk about “the tantalizing future of the blockchain” (around minute 32). Golumbia seems especially upset that De Soto is praised not only by George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, but also by Hillary and Bill Clinton (who called De Soto “the world’s greatest living economist,”) and denounces the Clintons as “left neoliberals.” Part of Golumbia’s full-on attack is based on “how easily and how transparently [Bitcoin] fits into the shift toward the right we see in so many places today.”



In <a href="https://amormundi.blogspot.com/2016/10/tech-talk-trump-talk.html" rel="noopener external noreferrer" target="_blank" target="_blank">a Twitter exchange with another political pundit</a>, with whom this writer has had many disagreements and intense exchanges over the years, Golumbia extends his condemnation to all sorts of emerging, disruptive and empowering technologies. It’s difficult to escape the conclusion that Golumbia’s opposition to Bitcoin and its associated technologies has its roots in a preconceived and flawed partisan position.

David Golumbia, an assistant professor in the Department of English at Virginia Commonwealth University, an aspiring political pundit, and the author of the recently published book, The Politics of Bitcoin: Software as Right-Wing Extremism, denounces Bitcoin in a recent blog post titled Trump, Clinton, and the Electoral Politics of Bitcoin. “[What] concerns me about Bitcoin…

Reviews

Authorities

Ideas

Kinds

Technologies

Review: “The Politics of Bitcoin” Offers a Flawed and Misleading Partisan View

OsiaNetwork LLC has reached out to the Federal Election Committee (FEC) in the hopes that it will allow computer sharing for crypto mining for campaign donations. Osia says it would like to be the platform in which volunteers share their computer power to mine cryptocurrencies, which are then donated to political campaigns of their choice. At press time, the request is in a “public comments” stage. 



Initially published September 10, 2018, the <a href="https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/aos/2018-13/201813R_1.pdf" target="_blank">venture’s request states</a>, “OsiaNetwork would allow volunteers to support federal political committees by ‘pooling’ the processing power of their internet-enabled devices to mine cryptocurrencies. OsiaNetwork believes that enabling individual volunteers to so ‘pool’ the processing power of these devices would allow individuals to support their preferred candidates, which they would not otherwise be able to do.” 



Osia further explains that volunteers can use any registered device(s) so long as they are actively signed into the company’s website. Mined coins do not go to the volunteers themselves, but rather to the OsiaNetwork pool, which keeps a certain portion for company processing fees while sending the rest to volunteers’ choice campaigns. 



“Mining rewards will be allocated among OsiaNetwork’s clients proportionately to the number of hashes that each committee’s volunteers generate to solve the block that generates the mining reward,” the company says. “OsiaNetwork will maintain a separate account for each of its clients that reflects, on an ongoing basis, the number of hashes generated by the individual volunteers of that particular client.” 



In addition, campaigns also have the option to solicit donations themselves. Osia simply connects to the campaigns’ websites and allows contributors to sign up from that point. Its letter explains, “If a federal committee would like to allow their individual supporters to volunteer the processing power of their internet-enabled devices, OsiaNetwork will provide the tools necessary to create a webpage on that committee’s website that provides the methodology to pool the processing power of these volunteer’s internet-enabled devices.”



<h4>Accountability</h4>



Where OsiaNetwork may encounter problems is in the amount of trust it expects from its users. For example, in the “terms of service” section of the company’s request document, it says that Osia does not guarantee the uptime of its services, nor does it take any responsibility for equipment damaged while using Osia’s services.



In addition, the request does not specify how much money will be delivered to designated campaigns, only that mining rewards “will be allocated among OsiaNetwork’s clients proportionately to the number of hashes that each committee’s volunteers generates to solve the block that generates the mining reward,” and that campaigns will receive the value of mined cryptocurrency in USD. The identities of people who participate in the volunteer program are kept secret from campaigns.



The document also says that there are no restrictions regarding how Osia can sell or distribute mined cryptocurrency; however, neither does the document offer details regarding OsiaNetwork’s accountability measures. Thus, the plan basically describes a custodial service, where all the mining rewards are pooled centrally and disbursed by Osia, but without any mention of transparency or accountability — an important aspect for most blockchain users. Osia appears to be requiring a high level of trust from people using the company’s services: All volunteers and miners will just have to have faith that Osia will do as it promises.



Bitcoin Magazine reached out to legal representatives of OsiaNetwork to learn more about any transparency measures that might be in place but was unable to get a response.



<h4>Political Contributions and Cryptocurrencies</h4>



The FEC began <a href="https://www.altcoinera.com/a-us-elections-agency-is-considering-to-let-people-contribute-by-mining-cryptos/" target="_blank">allowing bitcoin-based donations</a> to political campaigns in May 2014, though reactions have been relatively mixed throughout the United States. In <a data-original-title="" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/california-watchdog-bans-bitcoin-donations-093606846.html" target="_blank">California</a> and <a href="https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2018/08/north-carolina-bans-donations-in-crypto-for-political-campaigns/" target="_blank">North Carolina</a>, for example, donations in bitcoin and cryptocurrency to political campaigns are strictly prohibited. 



On the other hand, areas like Missouri have made tremendous headway. Last year, Republican Senate candidate Austin Petersen of Missouri <a data-original-title="" href="https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/08/bitcoin-for-campaign-contributions-on-the-rise-in-the-u-s/" target="_blank">received upwards of 24 separate</a> bitcoin donations, one of which is the largest in political history — 0.284 BTC, worth approximately $4,500 at the time. 



Petersen’s campaign manager Jeff Carson later commented that the Senate hopeful was a “big fan” of marketplace competition, which bitcoin tends to deliver. 



“I think it goes without saying we’re going to see a lot more of this in terms of campaign contributions and campaign financing,” he said. “With the rise of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, it was a no-brainer for us to use those.”

OsiaNetwork  has asked the FEC to allow volunteers who pool their computer power to mine cryptocurrencies to then donate the proceeds to political campaigns of their choice.

Mining

Austin Petersen

Donations

Osia Network

Republican

Senate

Federal Election Committee Asked to Consider Crypto Mining for Political Contributions

The political spectrum is usually <a href="https://www.politicalcompass.org/analysis2" target="_blank">divided into four main categories</a>: libertarian left, authoritarian left, libertarian right and authoritarian right. Those on the left prefer a more controlled economy, while those on the right have a preference for free markets. Libertarians tend to promote more liberal social policies, while authoritarians want to control what people do in the privacy of their own homes.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="836" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" src="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-04-15_at_2.23.02_PM.original.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40148 lazyload" data-sizes="auto" srcset="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-04-15_at_2.23.02_PM.original.png 836w, https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-04-15_at_2.23.02_PM.original-300x271.png 300w, https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-04-15_at_2.23.02_PM.original-768x695.png 768w, https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-04-15_at_2.23.02_PM.original-370x335.png 370w, https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-04-15_at_2.23.02_PM.original-800x723.png 800w, https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-04-15_at_2.23.02_PM.original-20x18.png 20w, https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-04-15_at_2.23.02_PM.original-185x167.png 185w, https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-04-15_at_2.23.02_PM.original-740x669.png 740w, https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-04-15_at_2.23.02_PM.original-400x362.png 400w, https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-04-15_at_2.23.02_PM.original-600x543.png 600w, https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-04-15_at_2.23.02_PM.original-53x48.png 53w" sizes="(max-width: 836px) 100vw, 836px" /></figure>



This is generally how political leanings are defined today, but technologies like Bitcoin and end-to-end encryption are changing that as our digital lives become, in some ways, more important than what we do in the real, physical world.



As technologists have explained to lawmakers around the world over and over again, encryption is either secure or it isn’t. Backdoors for law enforcement do not work because they create security holes. Either the encrypted messages you send over the internet are private or they aren’t.



This leads to a dichotomy where governments can either gain access to their citizen’s private messages, finances and other personal data or they can’t. The situation is black and white: People are either able to use encryption or they live in a surveillance state.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://twitter.com/MarcHochstein?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@MarcHochstein</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Bluemeanie4?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@BlueMeanie4</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ErikVoorhees?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@ErikVoorhees</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/EFF?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@EFF</a> this is the choice forced onto people by bitcoin: freedom vs tyranny. No inbetween.&mdash; Kyle Torpey (@kyletorpey) <a href="https://twitter.com/kyletorpey/status/523275093066383360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">October 18, 2014</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</figure>



Authoritarians may want access to your personal data in order to make sure you’re following the government-approved social norms, while leftists will want access to your finances in order to make sure you’re paying your “fair share” of taxes.



In an increasingly digital age, both of these political factions would desire what effectively amounts to surveillance in order to bring their values into the digital realm. The libertarian right is the only quadrant that may have no desire or need for mass surveillance.



So, the new political split is between those in favor of surveillance and those in favor of privacy.



<h4>Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman on the Topic</h4>



This new paradigm for politics was discussed by PayPal Co-Founder Peter Thiel and LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in 2018.



This contrast between crypto and big data was originally brought up by Thiel in terms of centralization and decentralization.



“Even though I think these things are underdetermined, I do think these two map, in a way, politically very tightly on this centralization [versus] decentralization thing,” said Thiel. “Crypto is decentralizing. AI is centralizing. If you want to frame it more ideologically, you could say that crypto is libertarian and AI is communist.”



 Thiel expanded on this idea, noting that AI is about big data, governments controlling all of that data, those governments then knowing more about their citizens than they know about themselves and governments attempting to hold society together through centralized control rather than spontaneous order. He pointed to the Chinese Communist Party’s love of AI and hatred for crypto as a more direct example of this philosophy in practice.



Hoffman tweaked Thiel’s libertarian versus communist analogy and stated, “You could say it’s [anarchy] versus rule of law.”



Thiel added, “I would say AI is a much more transparent world — the centralized world is more transparent. And then the question you go and ask is: What’s the opposite of transparency? Is it criminality or is it privacy?”



<h4>Where Will This Take Us?</h4>



This move toward digital privacy as the key divider between political ideologies has implications that are difficult to predict. It’s unclear what happens next.



The most interesting development may be with left libertarians, who will need to decide whether or not they actually care about online privacy, because Bitcoin has created a situation where financial privacy on the internet is possible.



In reality, there are limits to the concept of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crypto-anarchism" target="_blank">crypto anarchy</a>. While things like Bitcoin may make it more difficult to collect taxes in some instances, governments will be able to evolve in order to protect their revenue streams. Taking the tax issue to the extreme, government employees can still show up at property owners’ homes with guns and demand tribute.



It’s possible that dragnet surveillance may become less useful as more people turn to encryption and old-fashioned police work will be needed more frequently to solve cases.



Of course, this assumes that the advocates of online privacy will win out over the authoritarians from an ideological perspective. It’s still unclear whether much of the population cares about protecting its personal data from the likes of Facebook, Google and government agencies.



At the end of the day, technology is on the side of those who are in favor of strong privacy, which makes it more difficult to control. How this all plays out may depend on how violent leftists and authoritarians are willing to get in order to protect the idea of a centralized, controlled society on the internet.



This is a guest post by Kyle Torpey. Opinions expressed are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

Technologies like Bitcoin and end-to-end encryption are changing how political leanings are defined.

Authoritarian

Libertarians

Privacy

Surveillance

Op Ed: Bitcoin Is Turning Left vs. Right Into Big Data vs. Privacy

Lightning has struck the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign.



A new super PAC, Humanity Forward Fund (Humanity FWD), launched this week in support of Andrew Yang’s bid for the 2020 presidential seat. Spearheaded by a handful of bitcoin faithfuls, the super PAC will accept bitcoin donations through the Lightning Network in partnership with <a href="https://www.opennode.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="OpenNode (opens in a new tab)" target="_blank">OpenNode</a>, marking both the first Bitcoin-specific super PAC and the first time Lightning has been used to help fund a political campaign.



“HumanityFWD has partnered with OpenNode on the ‘21 DAYS OF BITCOIN FOR THE 21st CENTURY’ fundraising challenge — to celebrate the launch of the Humanity Forward Fund and to get Andrew Yang elected President! From July 25th to August 14th we will be EXCLUSIVELY accepting Bitcoin donations via OpenNode!” the initiative’s <a href="https://www.humanityfwd.org/" target="_blank">website</a> reads.&nbsp;



Following the 21-day trial, the super PAC will accept fiat donations, as well.



Other sections of the website laud Yang’s self-named “Freedom Dividend.” This mandate, promising each American over 18 years old a universal basic income of $1,000 a month, has become the primary pillar of Yang’s campaign, buttressed by the candidate’s views on the threat that automation, AI and other technological innovations poses to the modern American labor landscape.



Yang is also an outspoken proponent of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The presidential hopeful was a keynote at Consensus 2019, and <a href="https://www.inquisitr.com/5527194/andrew-yang-bitcoin-donations/" target="_blank">he began accepting bitcoin</a> for his campaign over a year ago. His website also has <a href="https://www.yang2020.com/policies/digital-asset-regulation/" target="_blank">an entire page</a> devoted to his platform’s stance on crypto regulations and consumer protections therein.



Bitcoin is no stranger to the U.S. political scene. A handful of candidates <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/01/cryptocurrency-candidates-politicians-embrace-bitcoin.html" target="_blank">have accepted it over the years</a>, either directly or through BitPay’s payment portal. Andrew Hemingway, a then-candidate for the New Hampshire governorship, was reportedly the first to do so in 2014, and Rand Paul became the first presidential candidate to open his campaign’s war chest to bitcoin in his 2016 run.

A super PAC established for 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang, an outspoken proponent of bitcoin, accepts Lightning Network donations.

Andrew Yang

Lightning

Lightning Network

Super Pac

Yang Super PAC to Accept Bitcoin Lightning Donations

Authorities in Malaysia have raided several <a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/bitcoin-mining" target="_blank">Bitcoin mining</a> facilities after discovering that they were siphoning electricity for free, local media company Malay Mail <a href="https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/08/07/tnb-loses-rm3.2m-in-kuantan-to-bitcoin-miners/1778296" target="_blank">reports</a>.&nbsp;



Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), a major electricity and utility company in the country, reportedly lost around $760,736 (3.2 million Malaysian ringgit) in unpaid power fees to the miners.



After the malpractice was discovered, the company went on to raid 33 apartments located near Kuantan, the state capital of Pahang.&nbsp;



Speaking on the case, Siti Sarah Johana Mohd Said, a service developer at the utility company, said that the illegal mining facilities had been operational for over six months.&nbsp;



Said said the miner made use of electricity directly from the distribution board, thus bypassing the meter. This created a discrepancy in the bill.



“They paid a bill of only RM219 [$52] whereas they should have been billed RM108,000 [$25,674] a month,” Said explained.

Bitcoin miners who plugged in directly to a distribution board cost a utility company over $760,000 in Malaysia.

FLYING EZE

FLYING EZE

MAIN SECTIONS

YOUR ACCOUNT

About FLYING EZE

FLYING EZE

Politics

Bitcoin Responds To American Vote Of No Confidence In Electoral Politics

The Economic Singularity: From Holland with Love

Government Lists Bitcoin as Potential Terrorism Threat

Newly Declared European Microstate Liberland Plans to Create Its Own Digital Currency

Bruce Fenton: Blockchain Alliance is a Profoundly Bad Idea

Review: “The Politics of Bitcoin” Offers a Flawed and Misleading Partisan View

Federal Election Committee Asked to Consider Crypto Mining for Political Contributions

Op Ed: Bitcoin Is Turning Left vs. Right Into Big Data vs. Privacy

Yang Super PAC to Accept Bitcoin Lightning Donations

Malaysian Authorities Bust Illegal Bitcoin Mining Operations

CoineMama

Main Links

Your Profile

Features

Coinemama