Tommy Robinson, who is an independent journalist and a controversial political activist, received Bitcoin worth $26,000. The Bitcoin was from his supporters who contributed to help him cover legal costs. Robinson was arrested 2 months ago for contempt of court and sent to jail. However, the court did not find adequate evidence to continue jailing him and therefore released him. His supporters were not happy with the arrest and felt that he was being targeted by the government for his stand. They, therefore, decided to contribute to him using cryptocurrency to help cater for his costs. The “Free Tommy Robinson” campaign received global attention with many politicians and celebrities all participating.
Illegal Arrest
This week a different court, however, found fault in his arrest and released him. His arrest, however, caused a lot of tension with many of his supporters calling it an injustice. With courts have contradictory views over his arrest, the government is yet to clarify the main reason for detaining him. The arrest however seems to have done more good for him since his popularity is on the rise. This is not to forget the fact the use of Bitcoin in the donations is increasing its circulation and awareness to people who may not want to stay limited by centralized platforms like banks.
$26K To Tommy Robinson In Bitcoin
It’s very hard to stop funding through cryptocurrencies. This could be the main reason why Tommy Robinson supporters opted to use Bitcoin. Bitcoin payments and contributions do not require middle man payment institutions. More to that, decentralized currencies are very hard to trace and therefore the receiver can use them comfortably.
When platforms like American Express, PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard blocked WikiLeaks, the group decided to start using digital currencies like Bitcoin. This proved that cryptocurrencies are viable alternatives to traditional currencies. The same happened in Spain during the Catalonia uprising when banks withdrew gave support the central government. The Catalonians started using cryptocurrencies to support their efforts to become independent.
People are opting for decentralized currencies because they get to control their finances. Digital currencies are however having a hard time dealing with cyber-crime. This year alone, the cryptocurrency market has lost more than $1b to hackers. Dealing with hackers is, however, very hard since most of them operate from the dark web. Additionally, its very hard to track them because of the anonymity of cryptocurrencies.
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