Human Rights Foundation Claims That Bitcoin Fixes Democracy and Fights Corruption

According to the Human Rights Foundation CSO, Bitcoin is a symbol of free speech, property rights, and open capital markets, which limits the authority of oppressive regimes.

Source: bitcoinmagazine.com

Alex Gladstein, a proponent of bitcoin and the chief strategic officer of the Human Rights Foundation, claims that by restricting government influence over its citizens, bitcoin restores damaged democracies and combats governmental corruption.

Gladstein stated that the decentralized structure of Bitcoin can serve as a barrier against tyranny and corruption in an interview on February 20.

He said, "I do believe it's very plainly related to fiat money, where the democracies have gone down, and I do believe that Bitcoin solves this in a way.’’

Since 2007, Gladstein has worked as the non-profit organization's chief strategy officer. The organization is committed to advancing and defending human rights everywhere, but especially in nations where its citizens are subject to "authoritarian rule."

According to his profile, Gladstein also presents talks on Bitcoin and the state of money at Singularity University gatherings.

Gladstein claimed during the interview that censorship, confiscation, and closed capital markets are often necessary for tyrannical governments to survive and that Bitcoin makes it extremely difficult for governments to impose these things on their citizens. Gladstein also said that China and Russia need censorship, closed capital markets, and confiscation in order to survive.

In the past, both China and Russia have been opposed to cryptocurrency. In 2021, the Chinese government effectively outlawed all cryptocurrency transactions; however, there have been rumors that attitude may be changing in light of Hong Kong's impending crypto licensing framework.

The usage of cryptocurrency for payment purposes will be legally outlawed in 2020 under Russia's significant crypto law, "On Digital Financial Assets." Although local cryptocurrency exchanges are still unregulated, the law does not forbid Russians from investing in cryptocurrencies.

With a Bitcoin standard, Gladstein continued, "I don't see these authoritarian powers working well; I believe it becomes incredibly hard for them."

Similar viewpoints from earlier speakers have been mirrored in Gladstein's argument on crypto. Similar viewpoints regarding the advantage of BTC donations in avoiding official crackdowns were expressed by Bitcoin infrastructure operator OpenNode in a post from 2021.

At the time, OpenNode stated that one benefit of Bitcoin was its resilience to censorship. Bitcoin has established itself as the preferred money for many people and organizations that are excluded from using conventional payment methods since there is no central authority to regulate who can and cannot use it.

A February 2022 analysis by blockchain analytics company Elliptic found that avoiding traditional accounts being closed by financial institutions was one of the main motivations for adopting blockchain-based fundraising.

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