The WikiLeaks Bitcoin donation wallet has received BTC from multiple people even as a London court has denied Julian Assange’s extradition to the U.S. based on health concerns. WikiLeaks has a history of attracting BTC donations, with Assange’s plight resonating with early adopters who share libertarian ideals.
Tweeting on Dec. 4, crypto transaction tracker Whale Alert revealed that the WikiLeaks wallet received inflows of about 8.48 BTC worth about $281,000 at the current market price. In total, the wallet now holds close to 20 BTC in its current balance (~$615,000).
The donations are coming on a day when Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, has been denied extradition to the U.S. Delivering the judgment, the London court declared that it would be oppressive to ship Assange to the U.S. where he stands accused of multiple espionage charges, facing up to 175 years in prison for his alleged crimes.
Back in Dec. 2020, Assange was among the list of the names in the clamor among crypto stakeholders for a presidential pardon by outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump. Indeed, false reports of clemency for the WikiLeaks founder caused quite a stir on social media before a retraction from the source responsible for the news.
Assange and WikiLeaks continue to receive support from the crypto community. The platform began accepting cryptocurrency donations back in 2017 following the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s decision to cut off funding access for WikiLeaks.
However, not every crypto player remained in the WikiLeaks corner. As previously reported by CryptoPotato, Coinbase blocked the WikiLeaks shop without prior notice back in Apr. 2018.
According to a Reddit post from 2014, WikiLeaks was an early Bitcoin adopter. The platform reportedly created its first BTC wallet back in June 2011.
Perhaps, if not for the plea issued by Bitcoin’s unknown creator Satoshi Nakamoto, WikiLeaks may have begun using BTC as early as 2010. According to a Bitcointalk forum posting by Satoshi back in 2010, the Bitcoin creator urged WikiLeaks not to bring “heat” on BTC while still in its infancy.
Perhaps even more profound is the fact that the abovementioned post is one of Satoshi’s last pieces of correspondence anywhere on the internet before disappearing to this day.
Featured image courtesy of Wired