Bitcoin linked to Antifa?

Have you noticed Bitcoin comes out in the news one way or another? It’s no secret that when bitcoin news hits on better-known medias agencies, it usually has to do with something bad. Or bitcoin being linked to news titles; good or bad press that's up to you to decide, but some of these titles are worrying and should not be scrolled down by the crypto community. Especially one I recently read regarding the recent riot outbreak in the U.S over the killing if George Floyd. What does this killing and Bitcoin have to do with each other, you may ask?

In a recent article by Forbes:

Donald Trump has threatened to designate Antifa—a decentralised group of far-left activists—a terrorist organization after country-wide protests over the killing of George Floyd turned violent.

Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz called for the government to "freeze their money" to stop protestors thought to be aligned with Antifa from "committing attacks"—prompting fears digital payment channels could be hijacked and suggestions bitcoin could be used to resist government "overreach."

Mr. Gaetz also had a controversial tweet this week:

"Now that we clearly see Antifa as terrorists, can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle East," Gaetz asked via Twitter this week, racking up 12,000 retweets before Twitter moved to limit its visibility.

Many may be in favor of the U.S government looking into Antifa; nonetheless, it does bring in the question of how far they are willing to go, especially if they are worried about this group receiving funds. If bitcoin is targeted, what stops them from using personal intel from centralized crypto exchanges. It has become clear that these exchanges being centralized, they would have to abide by government ruling. We have seen several exchanges willing to turn in KYC intel to different governments around the world, and other crypto exchanges eager to help the government. Such as Coinbase wanting to sell blockchain analysis software.

Doesn't this go against everything written in the bitcoin original white paper? Isn't the purpose of its creation to be decentralized, and this way, bitcoin doesn't run under the wing of any government ruling.

The article points out the influence the government has had on other payment corporations such as Master Card, Visa, and Paypal.

Back in 2010, political pressure on Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal led to them blocking payments to whistle-blower site WikiLeaks after it leaked a cache of U.S. State Department diplomatic cables.

Bitcoin, a decentralized digital currency, was used to sidestep the block on payments to WikiLeaks in 2010.

"WikiLeaks has kicked the hornet's nest, and the swarm is headed towards us," bitcoin's mysterious inventor Satoshi Nakamoto wrote at the time, shortly before he disappeared.

Let’s not forget the power of bitcoin and the real intentions behind its creation. I believe it’s important for the community and those who are developing not to lose focus on this because that’s the beauty of bitcoin and its decentralization.

The killing of George Foyed and the allegations of bitcoin and Antifa funding could result in a perfect excuse for close inspection from these government agents toward crypto. I can’t stop but think how curios this is or is it just a coincidence that the pandemic had brought more bitcoin adopters than usual; the market has plunged but has quickly recovered.

Whether you think this is right or not, the fact is that we all have to be informed, especially if you are using a third party to hold your crypto.

By: Carolina Pérez

Twitter: @carolinaninap