A group of human rights activists sent a letter to the US Congress highlighting the importance of bitcoin to millions of people in countries with oppressive regimes and unstable economies. The group calls for open-minded and empathetic regulation, which allows for new monetary technologies such as bitcoin.
The letter is in response to an earlier letter from critical computer scientists calling on Congress to tighten regulations. According to them, cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are not innovative, but unproven, risky, flawed and, moreover, unnecessary because there are no applications.
The group of human rights activists denies that. They point to their own experiences with bitcoin and stablecoins in their humanitarian work. ?ǣIn this struggle, we have relied on bitcoin and dollar instruments known as stablecoins, as well as millions of others living under authoritarian regimes or in unstable economies ,?ǥ the letter states.
The group of critical computer scientists consists mainly of people in affluent Western countries, with stable economies, freedom of speech and strong property rights. However, this is not the case for most people in the world, human rights activists write.
They point out that for the majority of the world’s people, financial repression, financial colonialism, frozen bank accounts, exploitative financial services and lack of access to the global economy are everyday realities. Many of the activists who signed the letter come from these countries themselves.
empowerment
As a free and open monetary network, Bitcoin offers financial inclusion and empowerment to everyone in the world, the group writes. For people in failing and closed economies such as Nigeria, Turkey or Argentina, bitcoin and stablecoins provide access to the global economy.
According to the letter, the activists used bitcoin to help people during currency crises in Cuba, Afghanistan and Venezuela, among other things. ?ǣWhen civil rights were suppressed in Nigeria, Belarus and Hong Kong, bitcoin helped continue the fight against authoritarianism,?ǥ the letter explains. They also point to the role that bitcoin played in the Ukrainian resistance.
According to the activists, Bitcoin is a tool against tyranny that strengthens democratic movements worldwide. Attached to the letter are a number of articles from renowned newspapers, intended as practical examples.
Empathic regulation
The group of activists calls on the US Congress to adopt open-minded and empathetic regulations. They request that the case studies be examined and the technology’s value explored for millions of people worldwide.
The fact that there are many fraudulent crypto projects should not lead to the loss of real financial innovation. According to the authors, Bitcoin and the largest stablecoins should not be confused with the other and often harmful crypto projects.
“We hope that you and your colleagues do not create or implement policies that hinder our use of these new technologies in our humanitarian work,” the activists plead. The group likens the fight for an open monetary network to the fight for the open web and warns against China’s model of control and surveillance.
We watched our dictatorial leaders from Beijing to Moscow try to ban bitcoin. We hope you will choose a different path, one that will allow us to save, connect and gain freedom.
The letter was signed by 21 human rights activists from 20 different countries. The full letter can be found here.
Human rights organization The Human Rights Foundation has been a proponent of Bitcoin for years and sponsors some Bitcoin developers.
