His efforts provoked a significant backlash. WikiLeaks faced severe censorship as major financial institutions froze its accounts under government pressure.
For Julian Assange, this wasn’t just about journalism but the very future of free speech. A skilled hacker since his teens and a world-class cryptographer, Assange was prepared for such battles. He co-authored Rubberhose, a cryptographic protocol that safeguarded activists’ secrets from decryption.
Julian Assange’s Bitcoin Revolution
When WikiLeaks turned to Bitcoin in 2010 after traditional financial channels were cut off, it found an ally in the cryptocurrency community. Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s creator, even stepped back from the project around this time, leaving behind a growing interest in Bitcoin’s potential role in supporting WikiLeaks.
In June 2011, WikiLeaks began accepting Bitcoin donations, breaking the financial blockade. The response was immediate and overwhelming 171 BTC flowed to WikiLeaks within the first week. Eventually totaling 4,100 BTC valued at approximately $250 million today, marking an appreciation of 233,000%. Assange recognized Bitcoin’s broader implications beyond financial transactions. He used it to timestamp records and even prove his continued existence through the blockchain.
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Assange’s foresight extended to Bitcoin’s potential as he met with Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt in a clandestine 2011 meeting, discussing Bitcoin’s future value growth.
By 2014, he hailed Bitcoin as the “most exciting development on the internet,” viewing it not just as money but as a tool for transparency and resistance against state censorship.
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Today, hundreds of WikiLeaks documents are immortalized on the Bitcoin blockchain, symbolizing resistance to government control. Here is an example.
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