A collection of human rights advocates from the around the world have penned an open letter to U.S. lawmakers supporting the use of Bitcoin.
According to a report by CNBC, 21 human rights supporters from 20 countries sent a letter to members of the U.S. Congress saying that Bitcoin gives power to individuals in countries where “local currencies are collapsing.” The letter comes in the wake of a number of prominent technologists warning Congress over the dangers of crypto and lobbying efforts to make digital assets more ubiquitous.
The human rights advocates claimed to have relied upon Bitcoin and stablecoins to circumvent the traditional banking systems. The letter notes that “tens of millions” of individuals living under authoritarian regimes or unstable economies have similarly turned to crypto.
The letter stated:
Bitcoin provides financial inclusion and empowerment because it is open and permissionless. 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.
In particular, the letter highlighted Nigeria, Turkey and Argentina as examples of countries where fiat currencies have become destabilized, leading individuals to turn to digital assets as a preferred alternative.
Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer for the Human Rights Foundation and one of the letter’s authors, slammed the call from technologists to have Congress crack down on crypto. Gladstein noted that 23 of the 25 technologists who issued the anti-crypto warning were from the U.S. or Europe, pointing out that they benefit from the privilege of dollars and euros.
Image Credit
Featured Image by “geralt” via Pixabay.com
