“For me, Bitcoin is not just technology. It has literally saved the lives of my friends and many Ukrainians. Without it, we would not have been able to raise money so quickly to pay for protective equipment for soldiers in the early days of the Russian invasion” - Lyudmyla Kozlovska
“Turks Pile Into Bitcoin and Tether to Escape Plunging Lira” - Wall Street Journal
“Dissidents Are Turning to Cryptocurrency As Protests Mount Around The World” - Forbes
“Young Lebanese driving crypto 'revolution' after banks go bust” - Reuters
“Bitcoin Has Saved My Family” - New York Times
“Putin’s Crackdown Pushes Independent Russian Media Into Crypto” - Bloomberg
“How Ukraine embraced cryptocurrencies in response to war” - Financial Times
Join the conversation on Twitter. If you think that our political leaders should learn about Bitcoin’s practical global value in order to craft good policy, please join the growing movement for financial freedom for all and sign this letter.
Letter in Support of Responsible Crypto Policy
The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Debbie Stabenow
Chairwoman
Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable John Boozman
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Sherrod Brown
Chairman
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Patrick J. Toomey
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 2051
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman
Senate Committee on Finance
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Finance
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Maxine Waters
Chairwoman
House Financial Services Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Patrick McHenry
Ranking Member
House Financial Services Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear U.S. Congressional Leadership, Committee Chairs and Ranking Members,
We are 21 human rights advocates from 20 countries across the globe who have dedicated ourselves to the struggle for freedom and democracy. In this struggle, we have relied on Bitcoin and dollar instruments known as stablecoins, as have tens of millions of others living under authoritarian regimes or unstable economies.
Bitcoin provides financial inclusion and empowerment because it is open and permissionless. Anyone on earth can use it. Bitcoin and stablecoins offer unparalled access to the global economy for people in countries like Nigeria, Turkey, or Argentina, where local currencies are collapsing, broken, or cut off from the outside world.
We write to urge an open-minded, empathetic approach toward monetary tools that are increasingly playing a role in the lives of people facing political repression and economic hardship. We are not industry financiers or professional lobbyists but humanitarians and democracy advocates who have used Bitcoin to assist people at risk when other options have failed.
You recently received a different letter from a group of critics claiming that cryptocurrency is “unproven” and a solution “in search of problems.” Our problems are real and the proof is in our stories and work.
We can personally attest — as do the enclosed reports from top global media outlets — that when currency catastrophes struck Cuba, Afghanistan, and Venezuela, Bitcoin gave our compatriots refuge. When crackdowns on civil liberties befell Nigeria, Belarus, and Hong Kong, Bitcoin helped keep the fight against authoritarianism afloat. After Russia invaded Ukraine, these technologies (which the critics allege are “not built for purpose”) played a role in sustaining democratic resistance — especially in the first few days, when legacy financial systems faltered.
Unlike most citizens on the planet, nearly all of the authors of the anti-crypto letter are from countries with stable currencies, free speech, and strong property rights. Dollar and euro users have most likely not experienced extreme currency devaluation or the cold grip of dictatorship. To most in the West, the horrors of monetary colonialism, misogynist financial policy, frozen bank accounts, exploitative remittance companies, and an inability to connect to the global economy might be distant ideas. To most of us and our communities — and to the majority of people worldwide — they are daily realities. If there were “far better solutions already in use” to overcome these challenges, we would know.
We do not claim that Bitcoin and stablecoins solve every problem, or that they are entirely positive or without risk. But in contrast to the claims made by the authors of the anti-crypto letter, ample evidence suggests that Bitcoin has and will continue to empower Americans and global citizens in the coming decade, and that—alongside stablecoins—this open and decentralized monetary network will help defy tyranny and strengthen democratic movements abroad.
Most of us dream that our fellow citizens could have access to the dollar or euro systems. But they do not. Bitcoin might not be our plan A, but amidst the failures of legacy financial systems, it is a valuable plan B as a bridge to the global economy and as a counter to the Chinese Communist Party’s model of surveillance and control. To claim that the practical value and future potential of cryptocurrencies “does not exist” denies the lived experience of millions of people like us and our colleagues who have depended on Bitcoin and stablecoins in times of crisis and autocracy.
We strongly recommend that the committees addressed herein research and explore the global value of these technologies, their empirically proven benefits for millions of people, and their potential. The crypto industry is undoubtedly rife with scams, but the solution is not to conflate genuinely useful fintech instruments with harmful crypto schemes. Instead, it is to teach people how to tell the difference. It is very easy to distinguish Bitcoin and the largest stablecoins — which constitute the clear majority of daily cryptocurrency volume and total global market capitalization — as valuable technologies making an impact worldwide. We hope that you and your colleagues do not craft or implement policy that hurts our ability to use these new technologies in our human rights and humanitarian work.
Just as some of us have acted to defend the open web in the past, today we stand to defend an open monetary system. Until now, many of us have been forced to hold broken currencies as our rulers prevented us from accessing dollars. We have paid the price of extortionate international money transfers. We have watched as our dictatorial leaders from Beijing to Moscow tried to ban Bitcoin. We hope you choose a different policy path, one that allows us to save, connect, and gain freedom.
We thank the Congress for its leadership and urge you to weigh our experience and expertise when setting legislative priorities. We are happy to share our stories with you anytime.
Signatories
Ire Aderinokun
Feminist Coalition (Nigeria)
Anna Chekhovich
Anti-Corruption Foundation
(Russia)
Fodé
Diop
(Senegal)
Fadi Elsalameen
(Palestine)
Meron Estefanos
Eritrean Initiative on Refugee Rights (Sweden)
Ahmed Gatnash
Kawaakibi Foundation (Norway)
Alex Gladstein
Human Rights Foundation (US)
Ricardo Herrero
Cuba Study Group (US)
Garry Kasparov
(Russia)
Lyudmyla Kozlovska
Open Dialogue Foundation (Ukraine)
Jaroslav Likhachevskiy
Belarus Solidarity Foundation (Belarus)
Leopoldo López
(Venezuela)
Indira Kempis Martínez
(Mexico)
Roya Mahboob
Digital Citizen Fund (Afghanistan)
Evan Mawarire
(Zimbabwe)
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar
Ideas Beyond Borders (Iraq)
Farida Nabourema
Togolese Civil League (Togo)
Jose J. Nieves
Colectivo + Voces (Cuba)
Yeonmi Park
(North Korea)
Anjan Sundaram
(India)
Alp Toker
NetBlocks (UK)
Join Us
If you're a human rights advocate or global citizen who has benefited from these technologies let us know. Deadline June 14, 2022.
Press Inquiries
For more information on this campaign contact David Zell at the Bitcoin Policy Institute.
External Writing and Research
The resources offered here were chosen by the authors of this letter as useful reference material only. The inclusion of a paper and/or author in this list does not constitute an endorsement of this letter.
Akwagyiram, Alexis, and Tom Wilson. “How Bitcoin Met the Real World in Africa.” Reuters, September 8, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-africa-insight-idINKBN25Z0Q8.
“Crypto Provides Fix for Some in Crisis-Hit Afghanistan.” Al Jazeera, March 21, 2022.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/21/crypto-provides-fix-for-some-in-crisis-hit-afghanistan
“Cuba's Communist Regime Is Trying to Control Crypto.” The Economist, October 30, 2021. https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2021/10/30/cubas-communist-regime-is-trying-to-control-crypto.
Deutsch, Jillian, and Aaron Eglitis. “Putin’s Crackdown Pushes Independent Russian Media Into Crypto.” Bloomberg, May 10, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-10/putin-s-crackdown-pushes-independent-russian-media-into-crypto#xj4y7vzkg.
Filtenborg, Emil, and Stefan Weichert. “Meet the NGO Turning to Cryptocurrencies to Help Desperate Belarusians.” euronews, December 22, 2021. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2021/12/22/meet-the-ngo-turning-to-cryptocurrencies-to-help-desperate-belarusians.
Gailey, Alex. “How to Donate Crypto to Ukraine, and Ensure Your Coins Are Going to the Right Places.” Time, March 7, 2022. https://time.com/nextadvisor/investing/cryptocurrency/donate-crypto-to-ukraine/.
Gladstein, Alex. “Why Bitcoin Matters for Freedom.” Time, December 28, 2018. https://time.com/5486673/bitcoin-venezuela-authoritarian/.
Huang, Roger. “As Protests in Hong Kong Surge, So Does Demand for Cryptocurrency.” Forbes, August 11, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerhuang/2019/08/11/as-protests-in-hong-kong-surge-so-does-demand-for-cryptocurrency/.
Kazeem, Yomi. “How Bitcoin Powered the Largest Nigerian Protests in a Generation.” Quartz, October 26, 2020. https://qz.com/africa/1922466/how-bitcoin-powered-nigerias-endsars-protests/.
Keita, Mohamed, and Alex Gladstein. “Macron Isn't so Post-Colonial after All.” Foreign Policy, August 3, 2021. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/08/03/macron-france-cfa-franc-eco-west-central-africa-colonialism-monetary-policy-bitcoin/.
Larsen, Nicholas. “Cryptocurrencies Filling Crucial Role in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict.” International Banker, May 8, 2022. https://internationalbanker.com/finance/cryptocurrencies-filling-crucial-role-in-the-russia-ukraine-conflict/.
Marsh, Alastair. “Ukraine’s Crypto Banker Describes How War Is Changing His Life.” Bloomberg, March 30, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-31/ukraine-s-crypto-banker-describes-how-war-is-changing-his-life#xj4y7vzkg.
Mellow, Craig. “Why Crypto Is Taking Root in Emerging Markets.” Barrons, May 23, 2022. https://www.barrons.com/articles/why-crypto-is-taking-root-in-emerging-markets-51653323319.
Nakamoto, Satoshi. 2008. “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf.
Namcios. “Yeonmi Park, Political Activists on How Bitcoin Enables Freedom.” Nasdaq, April 7, 2022. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/yeonmi-park-political-activists-on-how-bitcoin-enables-freedom.
Onyango, Conrad. “Kenyans Lead the World in Peer to Peer Crypto Trade.” Quartz, August 23, 2021 https://qz.com/africa/2050735/kenyans-lead-the-world-in-peer-to-peer-crypto-trade/.
Ro, Christine. “Why Argentina Is Embracing Cryptocurrency.” BBC News, April 21, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60912789.
Sigalos, MacKenzie. “We Sent Bitcoin from Miami to a Ukrainian in Poland Who Withdrew It as Cash, All in Less than Three Minutes.” CNBC, April 13, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/13/watch-as-we-send-bitcoin-from-miami-to-a-ukrainian-in-poland-.html.
Soloff, Andalusia Knoll, and Leo Schwartz. “The New Wave of Crypto Users: Migrant Workers.” Rest of World, April 26, 2021. https://restofworld.org/2021/crypto-remittances/.
Tapscott, Alex. “Commentary: Bitcoin Offers Freedom from Political Repression-and That's a Key to Its Future.” Fortune, February 18, 2021. https://fortune.com/2021/02/18/bitcoin-censorship-political-repression-deplatforming-china-belarus-russia-nigeria-crypto/.
“The 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index: Worldwide Adoption Jumps over 880% with P2P Platforms Driving Cryptocurrency Usage in Emerging Markets.” Chainalysis, May 20, 2022. https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/2021-global-crypto-adoption-index/.
“The 2022 Bitcoin Study from Block, Inc..” Inside, 2022. https://inside.com/cryptocurrency/posts/the-2022-bitcoin-study-from-block-inc-288092.
Weisenthal, Joe, and Tracy Alloway. “A Human Rights Activist Explains Why Bitcoin Is So Important to His Work.” Bloomberg, December 23, 2019. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-23/a-human-rights-activist-explains-why-bitcoin-is-so-important-to-his-work#xj4y7vzkg.
Wheatley, Jonathan, and Adrienne Klasa. “Cryptocurrencies: Developing Countries Provide Fertile Ground.” Financial Times. Accessed June 6, 2022. https://www.ft.com/content/1ea829ed-5dde-4f6e-be11-99392bdc0788.
Wolverson, Roya. “Bitcoin Draws Millions of Workers Sending Their Money Abroad.” Quartz, March 26, 2021. https://qz.com/africa/1983610/bitcoin-draws-millions-of-workers-sending-their-money-abroad/.
Yaffe-Bellany, David. “Ukraine Gets $22 Million in Crypto Donations to Fight Invasion.” The New York Times, March 1, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/business/ukraine-crypto-donations.html.