A Human Rights Foundation executive told a room full of US politicians that Bitcoin continues to prove itself as a powerful tool against authoritarian control, offering an alternative to the mounting ways fiat currency can be manipulated and controlled.
“With Bitcoin, the ability of these leaders to do these things is completely decimated,” Human Rights Foundation chief strategy officer Alex Gladstein said at the Bitcoin Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
“Bitcoin is bad for dictators,” he added.
Gladstein reiterates governments cannot “hyperinflate” Bitcoin holders
Gladstein — who described the audience as a “hall full of American leaders” — explained that governments find it much harder to track individuals when Bitcoin is used correctly. “If they use Bitcoin in the right way, without linking their ID to it,” he added.
Gladstein reiterated that people who keep control of their own wallets are protected from the many ways that dictators try to control people.
“If you’re self-custodian your Bitcoin, governments can’t delete or freeze your stuff, and they certainly can’t hyperinflate you,” he said. Bitcoin is a hedge against inflation, especially during hyperinflation, when prices rise quickly due to unstable economies.
Gladstein declared:
“So many people from these countries and so many other countries have essentially been saved or rescued because of this technology.”
He said the Human Rights Foundation first recognized Bitcoin’s potential in 2013, during Ukraine’s pro-democracy protests against then-President Viktor Yanukovych.
HRF experimented with Bitcoin when it was $100
He said many of the protestors had their bank accounts frozen, and they “wanted to do democracy work, which later ended up becoming Maidan Square.”
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“This was very early in Bitcoin’s life cycle; Bitcoin was worth like a hundred bucks at the time; we were very skeptical that this would work,” he said, adding that they were open-minded to the idea, and it ended up working.
“It got the value to them where traditional money couldn’t go,” he said. Gladstein has served at the nonprofit organization since 2007.
The foundation is focused on promoting and protecting human rights globally — particularly in countries where its people live “under authoritarian rule.”
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