Why Financial Freedom Matters | Alex Gladstein
Channel: Value of Bitcoin
Date: 2020-05-28

Why Financial Freedom Matters

Around the world, the financial system is broken. More than 4 billion people live under authoritarian regimes, where frozen bank accounts and financial surveillance are a normal part of everyday life, especially for anyone running a newspaper, civil society organization, or environmental group. Close to 2 billion people are unbanked, and more than 1 billion don't have any form of state identification. It's extremely difficult for these individuals to interact with the global economy, which isn't open for business for them. In democracies, governments cut interest rates and expand the monetary supply to try and keep economies on track, but in authoritarian regimes, this process is expanded and corrupted, to the point where today a variety of major currencies are experiencing high or even hyper inflation, a phenomenon which destroys the savings of the poor and middle class. And even in advanced economies, cash is disappearing, with electronic payment systems taking over and Central Bank Digital Currencies looming. Convenience is increasing with touchless and wearable transactions, but each time a payment is made, your information is leaked to governments and an increasing number of companies and third parties. Even in open societies, financial privacy is facing major risks. In the past year, protestors in Hong Kong have resorted to using cash to buy metro cards, to prevent the government from knowing their every move. But how will we effectively protest and hold our governments accountable in the future, when cash is gone? This is a talk about how Bitcoin can be a powerful tool to protect human rights, and about why we should be curious about a digital asset that isn't controlled by governments or corporations; is censorship-resistant and confiscation-resistant; has a known and predictable inflation schedule; can be accessed by anyone without needing permission from any authorities; and is potentially creating the foundation for instant, private payments for all.

Alex Gladstein is the chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation (@HRF), a non-profit organization that promotes civil liberties and challenges authoritarianism around the world and runs programs such as the Oslo Freedom Forum and Flash Drives for Freedom. He is a co-author of The Little Bitcoin Book, and his views on Bitcoin and human rights have appeared in outlets like Bloomberg, CNN, Forbes, and TIME.

About Bitcoin he says: 
"Bitcoin gives humanity a powerful tool for freedom: a global digital money system run by the people, outside of government and corporate control."

This presentation was performed during the Value of Bitcoin Digital - Halving Edition on May 11th 2020 - more information: https://vob-conference.com
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