Topic: Bitcoin, human rights, authoritarianism and war (Read 244 times)

I am also very confident in that, surely in the future, Bitcoin will control the entire economic and financial system of the world, Bitcoin is a decentralized asset, so when the war between countries occurs, they can still transact with bitcoin and there are no obstacles at all. bitcoin is a great thing in this world, there are millions of people's lives out there that have changed 180 degrees because of the presence of bitcoin, indeed there is still FUD news that continues to spread about bitcoin but it doesn't last long and will definitely disappear, The world becomes more beautiful with the presence of Bitcoin.

The main concern in that conflict is territory and infrastructure.  I'm sure people there will have some concerns about protecting their money, but I'd imagine the safety of their loved ones and whether or not they can keep the land that belongs to them and not be made homeless will be the things they care about first and foremost.

What I think is that When things are taken to be quite simple, I would say that the most important thing now is the issue of wars , because we as people will always see that the main thing is that many things can be done to be able to finish in one once and for all with that, because the most important thing now is to solve those Small problems that are becoming bigger, a small problem can become very big, even a possible world war can be unleashed, in this case the money moves to another level with bitcoin and any crypto, because the first thing they do is ban countries with fiat money , for me the most Important thing is that.

I believe there is reason to be optimistic human rights defenders journalists and other members of civil society continue to struggle to build a freer and more just world for generations to come. They work tirelessly to document abuses, ensure government transparency and accountability expose corruption promote inclusion and diversity and ensure access to justice. But the world is now much calmer if all these things have an effect the fiat currency will suffer. The economy will not have any bad effect on bitcoin as no one can manage has no political influence. The people of the world continue to struggle to build a sense of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights.

In my personal opinion, currently bitcoin has a very good role in the world of investment and also in the payment system. Because I personally see the existing reality, that currently bitcoin is still predominantly used as an investment asset and a small part is used as a means of payment. So if we talk about Bitcoin being able to change the world economic order or eradicate other crimes, I don't think Bitcoin will be able to reach that stage at this time. Because after all, to be able to dominate the world, Bitcoin must first be accepted by all countries. Only then can Bitcoin say a lot about the world economy.

However, this will not be able to change the economic order, but only improve the bad order. Because in my opinion, most state leaders and government institutions do not want bitcoin to become a legal currency or global currency. Because it is certain that every leader and government institution in a country must have plans or ambitions that will make their country progress. For example, in terms of the value of traditional currency, every country definitely wants its traditional money to have an expensive price. So in my personal opinion, in the future Bitcoin will continue to spread its wings to various countries in the world. But if Bitcoin can fix all problems like war or the economy absolutely, I think the possibility is small (especially in the case of war).

Didn't expect as much as a response, thank you everyone for your opinions and input.


Thanks, forgive me for the phrasing - perhaps sounded too egotistical!

Do you believe this will always be the case? My original point would be over centuries rather than decades, as it would need a long time horizon to shift from one system to another otherwise it would be pure chaos. Although as you mention, I too find it unlikely that governments would willingly give up fiat.


I agree with this, I should have been more clear that my viewpoint is over many decades if not centuries. As you mention it is currently too volatile; which we know will become more stable the more it is adopted, after a few decades (assuming adoption increases), then it's significance becomes more prevalent.


I did not intend for it to sound as the sole saviour of the people. I know that Bitcoin is merely a tool that can be utilised given it's benefits of decentralisation, borderless peer-to-peer transactions.

In terms of the larger scale, I am discussing a time horizon well beyond what we will live to see - so whilst it may sound like exaggerating at this point in time, in a couple of decades or centuries it may seem common place. I imagine in 2009 if you said Bitcoin would allow activists to fund their movements, they would have said the same?

Ultimately I'm just hypothesising, I love discussion and it is always important to hear the views from those who support your view and those against.


I believe my viewpoint may differ slightly, though I haven't read similar threads related to Russia - Ukraine so forgive me if it's not. Rather than focusing on donations and supporting 'the good guy', I am more focused on 'making war unaffordable' - though I am not a great fan of the saying, as many others have stated it is not the complete solution but I do believe that in the long run, if the world moved towards a Bitcoin standard, then it would have some benefit in deterring countries from going to war due to the economic impact.

Since I believe that war at it's core is always an economic balance, if the costs outweigh the benefits, there is no incentive.


I believe this isn't a problem of Bitcoin specifically but rather being in the 'old paradigm'. I do agree that for now, unfortunately this may be the case. However, in the hypothetical that I mention, bitcoin standard; Bitcoin would be the medium of exchange so it would be easier to transact peer to peer without centralised exchanges. I don't propose any particular route to get to this point, as it's very complex and nuanced - perhaps it is just a case of steady adoption of regular folk over a long enough time horizon?

Thanks again everyone so far, I will continue to read and add to the discussion when I have some more time! It is great to hear everyone's views.

Bitcoin's potential to change geopolitics and power dynamics is hard to ignore. Bitcoin's decentralization and blockchain transparency may dissuade totalitarian countries from manipulating finances. Conversely, Bitcoin's freedom-promoting capabilities can be used to fund covert activities, dodge sanctions, and support authoritarian regimes.

Historical monetary colonialism offers a fascinating analogy. Traditional currencies supported by powerful governments often subjugated entire people. Bitcoin could break these chains and level the playing field for Palestine if it dominates. Theres also Bitcoin's volatility and the possibility of massive accumulation by a few. Wealth concentration may unintentionally create power asymmetries and hierarchies.

Religious differences are a good mention here, your thoughts are absolutely not wrong if you look at history and the current context. Do you think that one day everyone on this planet will follow a particular religion or not follow any particular religion, simply a compromise of all viewpoints to develop together to conquer new challenges? But anyway, maybe we're discussing a bit too much compared to the main issue, as I mentioned it's just an idea (fiction is fine).

I guess you just have you remove money from politics and we're probably a much safer world. I mean, I don't imagine a world where there are no conflicts and wars, but it might be lessened to a significant degree if fiat and the fiat economics are replaced with a transparent currency which is impossible to manipulate. That's Bitcoin. Fiat as well as the economy using its standard are highly politicized. How many wars are actually waged strictly in the name of idealism or principles? There's probably always money matters behind every war.

In fact if I have all the money but if I can't buy the things I need then there is no value from the shares like many states are facing during COVID-19 now In the case of Palestinian citizens, even if they have a lot of bitcoins or other currencies, they will not be able to buy large quantities of food development products because their country currently does not have internet access Bitcoin is a smart digital currency that requires internet access which the state does not currently have and the process is very long and complicated and very difficult Cannot play an effective role at present In fact the authority of Bitcoin varies by state while it is universal It will then be recognized that it will exercise great influence under all circumstances, and that it will make it possible to procure anything at any time and to carry on the expenses of the war, and will be a great deterrent The bottom line is that in the case of the State of Palestine, this currency is not currently considered a large market or usable because it requires long-term access and access.

How can Bitcoin play a role as a “currency of liberation in contexts like Palestine”? Where is the liberation if the Binance exchange banned Palestinian accounts based on orders from the Israeli police!!

It is true that Bitcoin is decentralized, but in the end you are forced to use third-party services, which are mostly centralized and impose KYC. In practice, it can be said that governments have found a way to escape decentralization.

In terms of concept, Bitcoin is a wonderful thing that gives people financial freedom and promises them a better life, but unfortunately it is still immature to be a global currency due to extreme volatility and opposition from governments, in addition to other problems that will appear upon global adoption, such as delays and high fees due to congestion on the network.

You're dreaming of a utopia and we're unlikely to see it anytime soon, so long as there's a difference in our religion, skin tone, culture and ideology, we will never be seeing each other eye to eye and bitcoin wouldn't be a glue that's going to bind that because the mess is just too big. Never in my wildest imagination would I think that Christians and Muslims will be holding hands in solidarity because of bitcoin, these two groups have done wars in the name of who's God is the real one and I don't a measly concept of currency would be bigger than their God.

I believe that this type of cryptocurrency and utilization of this type of mode of payment has changed the whole thing about funding whether it's with the diverse application of research or any other type of funding. It is definitely a complex issue that would require more in depth analysis that there wouldn't any other be a concrete conclusion. It's hard to really quantify this complex.

Certainly, Bitcoin is empowering people most especially on their financial lives. In Turkey, many people are adopting Bitcoin all because they want to protect their wealth as the hyperinflation is eating away their purchasing power. Now, can Bitcoin be used in times of war? BTC can be utilized for transferring assets anywhere in the world but one must have internet connection to complete the transactions and in a specific area there must be establishments that will accept BTC as payment and must have platforms that can convert BTC to fiat money. You see, there are many factors that must be present in order for Bitcoin to effectively be useful. And I agree with the notion that Bitcoin is not the cure-all remedy of the many maladies affecting humanity since the start of history.

Nepotism and the value of freedom are always linked to human rights and authoritarianism is an idea to connect bitcoin to the truth of the facts they hide. What's the difference between the existing system which always has an impact on war because it is always influenced by greed and power? Conflicts were everywhere long before bitcoin was launched and why it is related is worth discussing further.

All of these things are understood correctly by any government, but they refuse to accept the reality because they think that bitcoin can kill corrupt power. Bitcoin is much better and can ward off corruption with recorded transactions because this system has no physics that can be manipulated. There is always a way out if used correctly and that is the reason certain countries reject bitcoin as a new, more transparent innovation.

I do not justify the statement above because I only speak on the basis of assumptions and I am not trying to make the statement as an attempt at justification. But we have freedom of opinion and that right is guaranteed to be expressed and I am happy when we talk outside reasonable limits that have debate value in the context of discussion.

Not all military conflicts are of an economic nature. Yes, economics plays an important role in this, but not always the determining one. However, even if we assume that Bitcoin has become the key anchor currency in the world, the financial world is not only a currency, but also numerous other assets, including ownership of various objects, liabilities and other securities, and much more. Yes, the inability to simply print the required amount of money may complicate the situation of the aggressors a little, but it will not make aggression either impossible or even difficult enough for them to stop doing it.

This is a topic that I find really interesting because it encompasses a lot of different important points.
From the very start, I think we need to distinguish between those who actually use Bitcoin (and their ideologies, mindsets, goals) and the values that sort of correlate with what Bitcoin is. The first matter is very simple: all sorts of people use Bitcoin for all sorts of good and awful purposes. As for the second one, I think Bitcoin aligns well with libertarianism, individualism, democracy, and doesn't align with authoritarianism or socialism. On its own, though, it's just a tool in the hands of people, so it's up to people to decide how to use it. Also, I honestly don't think that Bitcoin will become a dominant currency (as in, beat fiat currencies) because the world doesn't change that radically and that fast, and because Bitcoin itself can't really handle it (not on its own because there's a limit of transactions that can be processed per minute).

I never said that the sole aim of creating mixers is to facilitate illegal activities. Mixers were made to promote privacy and of course, bad actors will use the service wrongly. Many people use mixers for purely legal transactions and the service have been very helpful. There is also no evidence that bitcoin was used to finance the current war in the Middle East.

Indeed, mixers can be used as an alternative to obscure transactions. However, I am sure that mixer services do not only have the intention of facilitating illegal activities and war funding, there are many other uses.

https://cryptopotato.com/illicit-crypto-transactions-in-2022-surpassed-20-billion-for-the-first-time-chainalysis/?amp
According to chainalysis data posted by the CRYPTOPOTATO news website, Bitcoin/crypto involvement in funding terrorist wars is very small.


Right. Plus internet access and damage to computer devices or wallet hardware also have the potential to be hit by bombs/missiles and catch fire. If we imagine the position of those affected by war, we will not even care about our Bitcoin savings, because life is more important.

I'm a Bitcoin lover, but I don't want to confuse too many issues that people take as the logic of life. First of all, the OP has brought up quite a wide range of issues ranging from the impact of bitcoin, and life story. Honestly, I express that similar to money, it can be seen as having many abilities to serve humans depending on our purposes, but the story of freedom or a block of management I think is not the case. We need to separate and harmonize. Historical lessons from different periods show us that many things are intertwined in life and whether its ability to be maintained for a long time depends largely on people's sense of use.

And adding an idea about the future, all conflicts will end when awareness and solidarity increase, there is no longer jealousy and competition between individuals, groups, regions, planets, galaxies, ... and bitcoin will be as popular as you can easily use it to pay for very small services (for example: buying a battery,... )