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Here’s how much Bitcoin has risen since Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks took refuge in the cryptocurrency after Visa, MasterCard and PayPal pulled the plug
Founder of WikiLeaks Julian AssangeAND ready to return to his home country, Australia as his long legal battle with the US government comes to an end.
As he walks out as a “free man,” we examine the famous whistleblower’s connections to Bitcoin and how digital currency came to his rescue in difficult times.
What happened: Wikileaks was censored by the administration for its damning reporting on military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Under pressure from the authorities, financial giants love PayPal, Visa, AND MasterCard imposed a financial freeze, cutting off a substantial portion of the company’s revenue.
Left with no choice, Bitcoin was used to circumvent the banking ban. In June 2011, WikiLeaks posted a Bitcoin address on Twitter, now X, asking for donations.
WikiLeaks now accepts anonymous Bitcoin donations on 1HB5XMLmzFVj8ALj6mfBsbifRoD4miY36v
The appeal was received with much fervor, with up to 171 Bitcoins transferred to Wikileaks in the first week itself. During this time, one Bitcoin was valued at $20.96, meaning the company raised $3,584 in total.
See also: 54% of Japanese institutional investors plan to invest in cryptocurrencies in the next 3 years
Thirteen years later, Bitcoin has become one of the most valuable financial assets in the world, with one Bitcoin worth $61,636.87. This means that the 171 Bitcoins collected in the first week will be worth more than $10 million today, a huge jump of 2940 times.
Because matter: Julian Assange has long been a Bitcoin bull, as he explains in one of his interviews with his ex Google CEO Eric Schmidt how the scarcity of the currency will increase its value over time.
Aside from the financial benefits, Assange praised the decentralized technology behind Bitcoin, which is resistant to censorship and a powerful weapon against the monopoly of some Internet companies.
In other news, Assange’s wife Stella Assange, filed an emergency request to cover the cost of the flight home, which is worth $520,000. Apparently, donations can be made via credit/debit card payments and also Bitcoin.
URGENT: Urgent appeal for donations to cover the huge debt of $520,000 for the planes.
Julian’s journey to freedom comes at a huge cost: Julian will owe $520,000 which he is obligated to repay to the Australian government for charter flight VJ199. He wasn’t allowed to fly… pic.twitter.com/J6sTbXij53
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Price action: At the time of writing, ADA is trading at $0.3918, up 1.02% over the past 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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