The Bitcoin Decentralized Design: A Weapon Against Corruption, Says Alex Gladstein

Alex Gladstein, the Chief Strategy Officer of the Human Rights Foundation and a prominent Bitcoin advocate, believes that Bitcoin’s decentralized nature can be a powerful tool in the fight against government corruption and tyranny. In a recent interview, Gladstein argued that Bitcoin’s ability to act as a bulwark against corruption and authoritarianism stems from its decentralized design.

Bitcoin The Solution To Broken Democracies?

Gladstein believes that fiat currency is at the core of failing democracies. He suggests that Bitcoin has the potential to provide a solution to this issue. BTC embodies free speech, property rights, and open capital markets. It acts as a barrier to authoritarian governments. They rely on censorship, confiscation, and closed capital markets to stay in power.

Gladstein pointed out that regimes such as China and Russia require censorship, closed capital markets, and confiscation to survive. However, its decentralized design makes it difficult for governments to impose such restrictions on their citizens. Despite China and Russia’s past hostility towards cryptocurrencies, Gladstein believes that they will struggle to succeed in a BTC standard.

In 2020, Russia introduced the “On Digital Financial Assets” law, which bans the use of cryptocurrencies for payment purposes. Although local crypto exchanges remain unregulated, Gladstein anticipates a regulatory shift in the future.

Gladstein foresees more “trigger moments” in the future, where technical and liquidity issues with traditional financial services will drive people to switch to Bitcoin as an alternative. He asserts that each trade or communication disruption will lead to a new BTC user.

Nevertheless, Gladstein argues that Bitcoin’s potential to combat government corruption lies in limiting its control over citizens and preventing censorship, confiscation, and closed capital markets. 

Related Reading | Montana State Senate Passes New Bill Protecting Crypto Miners’ Rights

In response to the Gladstein interview, a crypto community member pointed out that the BTC Volatility Index is primed for a big move in the near future. They anticipate this week will mark the start of a new price trend – something that’s worth watching closely.

Others said that they no longer consider the idea of Bitcoin going to zero as valid,” others assert, instead assuming that it serves the same purpose as gold did in the early days of the banking system.”