Bitcoin was created almost ten years ago, the most popular cryptocurrency today. In recent years, the cases of people who become rich because of digital currencies, the amount of energy consumed by minarlas and the technology on which they are based have become viral. However, little has hardly been heard about the benefits of these digital assets for the defense and promotion of Human Rights.
During the Singularity University Global Summit , the strategy director of the Human Rights Foundation, Alex Gladstein, spoke about the important role Bitcoin was playing for freedom, both financial and political.
For Gladstein, cryptocurrencies are the perfect way to combat the extreme centralization that some governments have. According to the Human Rights activist, Bitcoin is the best way to deal with extremely controlling regimes, such as China's.
In addition, with digital currencies it is possible to carry out transactions worldwide without trusting a third party. "The fact that it has no owner and is decentralized gives Bitcoin some unique + resilient properties. It can not be changed, stopped or interrupted. You do not need to know or trust the part of the other side to transact with them. "
For Gladstein, BTC can be compared to a government: the miners would be the executive branch, since they work for the right to add another block to the Blockchain; the legislative branch would be the coders, who write the script; and the users would occupy the judicial branch, because they are the ones who decide whether to install the new blocks in their nodes.
He also assured that cryptocurrencies are an outlet for people who live in authoritarian countries or who face situations of economic or financial crisis, such as what happens in Venezuela.
Decentralized networks, such as Bitcoin, are more useful in countries where people do not trust either in the government or in the financial system. Almost half of the world's population lives under an authoritarian regime, which represents a great opportunity. Whether it is an opportunity for human impact or commercial impact, that is up to you.
Gladstein believes that, with Bitcoin, it will end once and for all the monopoly governments have over currencies, which will result in more freedom for individuals.
Finally, Gladstein said: "I think we want to do everything possible to follow a path that has some kind of decentralization," adding "where we preserve our freedoms and rights, and our privacy. We will want that for the future of our poses and for the future of our species. "
Cryptocurrencies can be frowned upon by some world authorities, especially some governments; however, for human rights activists, especially those dedicated to protecting and promoting freedom, currencies like Bitcoin are a step forward in the struggle for their cause.