Cryptocurrency Becomes A Tool Of Hatred


So Crypto...


Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, appeared for a lot of reasons. The prime one, though, was surely that they allow commercial transactions to be private. You don’t have to worry about governments, or whoever, checking up on what you buy and why. That means they’ve been great favorites of Libertarians and the “Drown-the-government-in-a-bathtub” set for years.

But, now, at least according to some news reports, cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin have become the most favored cash-alternative of the far, far right…as in Nazis and other hate groups. As traditional banks have backed away from the Alt-Right because of its violence and racist rhetoric, the more cunning among the Alt-Rightists have moved to Bitcoin. Indeed, according to news reports, some of the more strident would-be Hitlers among them have become multi-millionaires from BitCoin-based revenue streams.(1)


And mind you, this is not just a question of mere financial crimes. Some of the leaders of the now cryptocurrency-dependent movements have encouraged their followers to employ violence against women, minorities, liberals and anyone else that they happen not to like.(2)


Which brings up an interesting question for Libertarians. In theory, cryptocurrencies were meant to protect people’s privacy, and if there were any problems in the use of such currencies, or criminal use of same, then it was up to the individual to take appropriate action. That’s the whole libertarian, stand-on-your-own-two-feet ethos.


But, in fact, what actually happened was the cryptocurrencies soon became the tool of, first, criminal enterprises, and, then, of the Neo-Nazi movement. And both criminals and Nazis have proved sufficiently cunning that they have stayed beyond the reach of most of their victims.(3)


That being the case, isn’t there a problem with Libertarianism itself? Doesn’t the use of cryptocurrency by such dangerous individuals prove that a total lack of oversight, with the “markets policing themselves,” leads not to the sovereign citizen…


But to the sovereign criminal? And with the average man and woman becoming, as always, a victim of the rich and the ruthless?


~mjt





Sources


1. “Far-right cryptocurrency follows ideology across borders,” by Erika Kinetz and Lori Hinnant, AP, Sep 28, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/cryptocurrency-coronavirus-pandemic-technology-business-europe-f7f754fc2c68b0eb0d712239323f26c3


2. See, for example, the alleged activities of the Daily Stormer’s “Troll Army,”  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Stormer#Harassment_by_the_%22Troll_Army%22


3. See, for example, the Kinetz and. Hinnant article above, plus “Neo-Nazi website founder accused of ignoring $14M judgment,” by Michael Kunzelman, Dec 11, 2020. https://apnews.com/article/technology-race-and-ethnicity-montana-courts-1554c9a9254449b75018cee56317c557

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