An nameless donor inside the Bitcoin group has contributed 8 BTC, valued at roughly $500,000, to help with the journey bills of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, as reported by yesterday. This monetary help facilitated Assange’s return journey through chartered flight, an possibility necessitated by his prohibition from industrial airline journey.
In line 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 means of 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 coloration to the gray hellscape of injustice presently plaguing the world. A stroke of brilliant blue sky. Perhaps, every little thing will flip round.” Nonetheless, the group has expressed skepticism about Tate’s precise involvement, with many urging him to authenticate his declare by signing a message with the non-public 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 true 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 “protected passage by means of” 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 ‘protected passage by means of’ on NOSTR at 16:46. He then waited until transaction received confirmed on Bitcoin timechain after which posted ‘protected passage by means of’ 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 means of technological means, making him a believable candidate for the donation.
The beneficiant donation to Assange has not solely sparked discussions in regards to the id of the donor but in addition highlighted the deep-rooted help Assange has garnered inside the Bitcoin group. 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 “essentially the most fascinating 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, because of its controversial actions. The Bitcoin group’s rally to help Assange underscores a shared ideological alignment on the ideas of freedom of knowledge and resistance in opposition to censorship.
At press time, BTC traded at $60,820.
Featured picture from X, chart from TradingView.com
