In a report to Congress, human rights campaigners take pot shots at affluent crypto opponents
The team of 21 activists gave a list of how crypto helps people all across the globe, claiming that “huge numbers” use Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoins to conduct financial transactions.
Human rights activists from 20 nations have signed a letter to the US Congress calling for a “sustainable cyber strategy” and hailing Bitcoin and altcoins as crucial instruments for millions worldwide seeking democratic values.
The statement comes barely just after an anti-crypto official response pretending to be from the science establishment was sent to Congress, with many crypto sceptics and writers from elevated, modern democracies among the main participants.
The network of 21 activists punching back includes activists from Ukraine, Russia, Iraq, Nigeria, Venezuela, Cuba, and even North Korea, that have recently experienced violence or have extremely fragile finances. The message reads as follows:
“We write to encourage an accessible and compassionate attitude towards payment mechanisms, which are progressively playing a role in the lives of those facing state persecution and financial turmoil.”
They go on to say that they are altruists and political activists who have used Bitcoin (BTC) to help those in need “when other alternatives have faltered” and who want to preserve an honest currency system.
The group claims that in the “fight for liberty and democracy,” they have used Bitcoin and stablecoins, as have “tens of millions of people” surviving under autocratic regimes.
“Citizens of countries like Nigeria, Turkey, and Argentina, where domestic institutions are crumbling, damaged, or cut off from the outside community, can use bitcoins and stablecoins to get unrestricted access to the international market.”
The group presented countless instances of how cryptocurrencies are benefiting people all over the world, providing examples from Cuba, Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Nigeria, all of which have witnessed strong encryption acceptance due to inflation or a lack of sufficient economic structure.
Cryptocurrencies also “aided in keeping the battle against tyranny aloft,” according to the party, citing the role cryptocurrency played when financial institutions collapsed during Russia’s incursion into Ukraine in February 2022.
The activists targeted “the anti-crypto letter,” which was allegedly signed by 1,500 computer scientists and researchers, and urged Congress to avoid an unnecessary “legal safe harbor for these hazardous, defective, and untested digital financial products,” which was sent to Congress on June 1. Experienced or lengthy cryptography opponents, including David Gerard, Molly White, and Stephen Diehl were among the lead writers.
According to the human rights organization, almost all of the letter’s signatories are from nations with “stable currency, freedom of speech, and solid private property” and therefore are unlikely to have suffered inflation or “dictatorship’s frigid hold.”
“The evils of fiscal imperialism, a misogynist fiscal system, frozen banking information, predatory transfer firms, and an inability to relate to the world economy may seem like far-fetched concepts [to those who] live in the developing world.”
Signatory nations to the letter include activists from the Feminist Coalition (Nigeria), the Anti-Corruption Foundation (Russia), Belarus Solidarity Foundation (Belarus), Ideas Beyond Borders (Iraq), the Digital Citizen Fund (Afghanistan), and, most strikingly, Russian chess champion and chair of the Human Rights Foundation, Garry Kasparov.
The human rights group noted that cryptocurrency frauds are on the rise but argued that associating valuable FinTech services with criminal tactics is not the answer; rather, education is necessary to assist people to distinguish between the two.
“We hope you and your coworkers do not draft or execute policies limiting our capacity to use technological advances in our human rights and international humanitarian work.”
We sincerely hope you take a very different policy course.
