5 — Alex Gladstein

Alex Gladstein

Jun 10

Bitcoin & Human Rights

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June 10, 2021
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Alex Gladstein is the Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation. He has been fighting tyranny around the world as a human rights activist for close to 15 years. In recent years, his work has focused extensively on the promise of bitcoin for human rights. This episode explores how bitcoin addresses human rights challenges that relate to our current financial system and emerging forms of centralized financial control.

"Putin can do a lot of things but he can’t freeze a bitcoin account." — Alex

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Bitcoin aims to be the world’s new reserve currency and medium of exchange — whereby it would function as both digital gold and digital cash. It offers a store of value that is resistant to inflation and seizure and a way for individuals to transact without any intermediaries, from anywhere across the world.

Whereas tyranny thrives by consolidating power, bitcoin is decentralized and thereby offers a tool of individual empowerment that cannot be repressed. Most people in the world live under various states of ruthless economic and political suppression that characterize authoritarian rule; in many of these countries, Bitcoin is already providing hope for a better life.

Alex and I also discuss a nuanced understanding of Bitcoin’s energy consumption, including the petrodollar arrangement that drives our global financial system today. He also helps us understand how the unique features of bitcoin (that distinguish it from other cryptocurrencies) are integral to its human rights value proposition.

Finally, we dive into the prospect of Bitcoin promoting financial freedom in a world without cash. One challenge here is to design for privacy in a way that keeps the currency auditable on an open ledger. Another challenge is payment efficiency. On both fronts, Alex introduces innovations like Taproot and Lightning Network that are underway.

If you’re familiar with bitcoin, I hope this conversation crystallizes its inherent relationship to human rights. And if you’re new to bitcoin, I hope these ideas inspire you to understand the challenges and opportunities of our digital world just a little differently than before.

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"It’s the only way out." — Jack Dorsey in conversation with Alex at Bitcoin 2021 in Miami

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