An nameless donor throughout the Bitcoin neighborhood has contributed 8 BTC, valued at roughly $500,000, to help with the journey bills of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, as reported by Bitcoinist yesterday. This monetary assist facilitated Assange’s return journey through chartered flight, an choice necessitated by his prohibition from industrial airline journey.
In accordance with Stella Assange, his spouse, the Australian authorities coordinated the logistics of this pricey journey, which amounted to $520,000—a debt now owed by Assange. The supply of this substantial BTC donation has ignited a flurry of hypothesis amongst crypto lovers and observers alike.
Who Is The Mysterious Bitcoin Donor?
Andrew Tate, a former kickboxer and polarizing determine in social media circles, emerged as a possible donor. Tate’s involvement was hinted at by his enigmatic reply—a present field emoji—to a publish in regards to the donation on the social media platform X.
He had beforehand expressed elation over Assange’s launch, stating, “Assange being free provides a burst of colour to the gray hellscape of injustice at present plaguing the world. A stroke of vibrant blue sky. Possibly, all the things will flip round.” Nonetheless, the neighborhood has expressed skepticism about Tate’s precise involvement, with many urging him to authenticate his declare by signing a message with the personal key related to the donation tackle.
Including one other layer to the unfolding thriller, crypto researcher Iwan Rabbinstein posited that Jack Dorsey, the founding father of Twitter and CEO of Block, Inc., is likely to be the actual philanthropist behind the scenes. Rabbinstein’s assertion is supported by an in depth evaluation of social media posts and blockchain transaction timestamps.
He famous that Dorsey’s message of “secure passage by” for Assange was posted on X concurrently with the blockchain timestamp of the 8.07173122 BTC transaction at 5:03 pm GMT-4. Rabbinstein added, “Additionally, Jack posted ‘secure passage by’ on NOSTR at 16:46. He then waited until transaction bought confirmed on Bitcoin timechain after which posted ‘secure passage by’ on Twitter at 17:03.”
Dorsey is well-known for his advocacy of human rights and has a historical past of supporting political causes by technological means, making him a believable candidate for the donation.
The beneficiant donation to Assange has not solely sparked discussions in regards to the identification of the donor but additionally highlighted the deep-rooted assist Assange has garnered throughout the Bitcoin neighborhood. Since WikiLeaks began accepting Bitcoin donations in 2011, Assange has been a vocal proponent of the cryptocurrency, which he believes may revolutionize extra than simply fee methods.
In a 2014 interview, Assange described Bitcoin as “probably the most attention-grabbing factor on the web,” presciently predicting its myriad potential purposes. This incident displays the broader narrative of BTC as a device for political and social empowerment.
WikiLeaks’ early adoption of Bitcoin was pivotal at a time when conventional monetary establishments refused to course of donations to the group, as a consequence of its controversial actions. The Bitcoin neighborhood’s rally to assist Assange underscores a shared ideological alignment on the rules of freedom of knowledge and resistance towards censorship.
At press time, BTC traded at $60,820.
Featured picture from X, chart from TradingView.com
