Bitcoin
Julian Assange’s family is raising funds for him with Bitcoin
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 5: Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, speaks from the balcony of… [+] Embassy of Ecuador, where he continues to seek asylum following an extradition request from Sweden in 2012, on February 5, 2016, in London, England. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention insisted that Mr. Assange’s detention must end. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
Getty Images
It’s a global headline – Julian Assange, former editor-in-chief of Wikileaks, got a plea deal and his sentence was commuted to time served. His next step is to travel to Saipan and then return to his homeland, Australia. However, the financial burden on him is far from over, despite five years in prison and a deal that did not fully forgive him. His fiancée, Stella Assange, revealed that this journey to freedom will personally cost Julian a staggering $520,000 USD. The family is urgently appealing for funds to cover travel expenses and support his recovery after the grueling ordeal.
While every contribution counts and anyone looking to donate should look at the link above as an option, some noted that the donation platform only accepted credit/debit cards and bank payments and asked if Bitcoin was available.
Bitcoin
address where they could donate. Now, a BTCPay POS Configuration allows you to generate on-chain and Lightning Network invoices for Assange’s campaign. His brother, Gabriel, who I had already interviewed, configure this. I confirmed the address with the same account I conducted multiple interviews with, including phone calls. I confirmed that they received a small trial donation by generating an invoice on BTCPay Instance they sent me. When generating an invoice, you can pay by copying the generated LNUrl or scanning the QR code from a Bitcoin/Lightning wallet. Gabriel Shipton, brother of Julian Assange, posted about this BTCPay server instance here.
Author screenshot
Author screenshot
BTCPay has become a preferred way to process payments when people want to fully benefit from Bitcoin’s resilient decentralization and censorship-proof properties. It shows the power of Bitcoin outside the custody of big banks and ETFs. When HSBC froze protesters’ bank accounts, the media outlet that broke the news, the Hong Kong Free Press, used BTCPay before accepting Bitcoin donations. O Human Rights Foundation also uses BTCPay to raise funds.
Unsurprisingly, there is a new option to donate funds in Bitcoin, as Julian Assange and his family have been part of the Bitcoin tapestry for a long time. Julian talked to Satoshi about accepting donations in Bitcoin for Wikileaks. It was timely as PayPal froze funds intended for Wikileaks. Julian has also spoken about his deep fascination and writing about Bitcoin, for example in a Reddit AMA, where he wrote: “There’s a lot about Bitcoin in my book – about my thoughts on it and WikiLeaks’ history with it. Eric Schmidt and I talked a little about it, and I’ve also included lots of notes to expand on my views. It’s a fascinating and complex subject, so I can’t cover everything.” Julian also claimed to have gained 50,000% return in Bitcoin in 2017. Since then, the price of Bitcoin has increased from the beginning of 2017 (about $1,000) to now about 60x (about $60,000).
His family also used smart techniques how to inscribe Wikileaks war logs on the Bitcoin blockchain to continue its legacy. Now that Julian is out of prison, this legacy of involvement in Bitcoin can continue. Bitcoiners can now support Julian and his family by donating to a BTCPay Instance both on the Bitcoin chain and the Lightning Network. With a donation of 8 Bitcoin (worth around US$500,000) registered to an address on the network Posted by Stella AssangeJulian’s fiancée, it appears that the Bitcoin community is determined to support Julian and his family.