Bitcoin: Dictator-Proof Money

Activists And Educators In Latin America Turn To Bitcoin To Preserve Democracy and Empower Individuals

Jun 24, 2024

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on a 10 dinar note. You won’t find the face of any leaders on bitcoin — partially because it doesn’t in the physical realm and partially because it’s the money of the people, not the government. | Photo credit: Rob

Editor’s note: Please click on images of articles to read them.

A few months back at the Bitcoin Policy Summit, I sat down with Nicaraguan pro-democracy activist Félix Maradiaga to discuss how Bitcoin can be used to circumvent financial repression in his home country.

Here’s one of my favorite segments from the piece:

USING BITCOIN TO COMBAT FINANCIAL REPRESSION
Maradiaga is now working to rebuild the capacity of the democratic opposition in Nicaragua from abroad, and his advocacy includes using Bitcoin to circumvent the financial repression employed by the Ortega regime.
After thanking his wife, Berta Valle, as well as Human Rights Foundation Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein, for introducing him to Bitcoin, Maradiaga recounted an example of how the technology has helped pro-democracy freedom fighters on the front lines in Nicaragua.
In 2018, when his team of human rights defenders compiled reports on Nicaragua’s situation, those involved with the process were compensated via the traditional financial rails.
The Ortega regime was able to access those financial records with help from the European Union, the United Nations and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which led to the persecution of those involved with the efforts of Maradiaga’s team.
"We learned very early that we couldn't use the traditional banking system because financial repression for political control is actually one of the areas in which dictators have learned a lot. They’ve become highly sophisticated," he explained.
To counteract this, Maradiaga and his colleagues turned to Bitcoin.
"Bitcoin is the only tool that is bulletproof to financial repression from dictators," Maradiaga stated.

If you prefer video to written work, you can watch my interview with Maradiaga below:

Mi Primer Bitcoin

This week, I published a piece on the Founder of Mi Primer Bitcoin, the largest open-source Bitcoin education platform in the world.

The program started in El Salvador, but its curriculum is now used is over 30 countries.

While some might argue that El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has dictatorial tendencies — and they’d be right to do so — and associate Bitcoin, and by extension Mi Primer Bitcoin, with his rule, I’m here to say this is not true.

Dennehy addressed this issue in my interview with him.

Check out the segment of the piece linked above to learn more:

THE CHALLENGES OF RUNNING MI PRIMER BITCOIN
A persistent challenge Mi Primer Bitcoin has faced since its early days has been establishing the non-profit’s independence and impartiality.
Dennehy discussed how many Salvadorans associate Bitcoin with the Salvadoran government, an institution about which many in the country have polarized feelings.
“Early on, there was a strong association here in El Salvador with the government and Bitcoin,” said Dennehy.
“People that liked the government tended to like Bitcoin. People that didn't like the government tended to not like Bitcoin. There were even people that thought that Nayib Bukele invented Bitcoin. That was a common perception in these early days,” he added.
“So, there is a strong association that Bitcoin had with the government. An early struggle was to show people that Bitcoin is separate. Bitcoin is independent. And so are we.”
Dennehy pointed out that this challenge still remains, especially as Mi Primer Bitcoin now works within the public school system in El Salvador.
“We're always trying to assert our independence and not just in deed, but in perception,” he explained.
“Working with the government just amplifies that challenge of separating ourselves in the perception of others from the government,” he added.
“One of the ways that we meet that first challenge of not being dependent on the government is, as a point of principle. We never accept funding from the government.”

To learn more about Mi Primer Bitcoin and the educators around the world who are utilizing the program’s curriculum, check out this Spaces I hosted with Dennehy and Bitcoin teachers from Kenya, Argentina, Canada and elsewhere.