As a seasoned crypto investor with a keen interest in both technology and politics, I’ve been following the intriguing relationship between Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, and Bitcoin closely. The recent developments in Assange’s life have brought back memories of their earlier connection to this revolutionary digital currency.
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, received a generous donation of 8.07 bitcoins from a single source. This substantial contribution enabled him to afford travel back to his native country, Australia. Due to the high cost of commercial flights and special arrangements made by the Australian government, Assange had to pay an exorbitant fee of approximately $520,000 for a private jet.
After serving a five-year sentence in a British prison, followed by five years residing at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, Julian was granted freedom. He admitted guilt to one espionage charge, enabling his release, with US officials regarding his previous imprisonment as fulfilling the required time under their jurisdiction.
Stella Assange, Julian’s wife, made an appeal for donations, explaining that “Julian’s journey to freedom will incur substantial expenses: He owes the Australian government USD 520,000 for chartering Flight VJ199 as commercial travel was not an option due to security concerns or available routes for him to Saipan and then to Australia.” She added gratefully, “Your generous contributions, regardless of size, will be greatly appreciated.”
Stella established a crowdfunding platform to gather funds from benevolent donors aiming to help WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange return home after years in hiding. The initiative has amassed nearly $500,000 but does not accept Bitcoin donations. To address this, Stella created an alternative page for Bitcoin contributions earlier on. This was a strategic move to expeditiously collect the approximately $520,000 travel expenses that were needed. The support for Julian has surpassed expectations, with donors contributing over a million dollars.
Approximately $500,000 worth of Bitcoin donations were received in total, with a sole transaction making up the entire contribution. The wallet used for fundraising received 8.217 Bitcoins through 34 transactions, of which 8.07 Bitcoins originated from the address bc1q7dsp0gjzawfwynlwht2d35847kty02e2epqz6mczp6yjfm9nzfzqjkatkh.
In the formative years of Bitcoin, WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange showed a connected dynamic. Initially, WikiLeaks came close to accepting Bitcoin as a means of donation. However, Assange reconsidered this decision following Satoshi Nakamoto’s appeal against it. The potential fallout from WikiLeaks’ association with Bitcoin could have jeopardized the cryptocurrency’s emerging adoption due to the negative publicity surrounding WikiLeaks at the time.
Back in those days, around two years after Bitcoin’s inception, WikiLeaks found itself cut off from traditional banking services. In response, they turned to the decentralized world of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin was becoming increasingly popular during that time, with growing usage and rising prices. By then, Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, had already disappeared from the scene.
Image by hafteh7 from Pixabay
Read More
- PENDLE PREDICTION. PENDLE cryptocurrency
- CKB PREDICTION. CKB cryptocurrency
- PBX PREDICTION. PBX cryptocurrency
- USD DKK PREDICTION
- GEAR PREDICTION. GEAR cryptocurrency
- USD VND PREDICTION
- ICP PREDICTION. ICP cryptocurrency
- EUR INR PREDICTION
- BSW PREDICTION. BSW cryptocurrency
- W PREDICTION. W cryptocurrency
2024-06-30 23:56