Bitcoin, Who's Tool Is It?

Bitcoin is the new God these days, everyone is talking about it, some can afford to invest in it, others are just dreaming about owning some and there are those who are using it as a secret weapon. Some countries are regulating the use of cryptocurrency, others have no clue what to do with it, and there are those that think it's best to ban it altogether.

One of the reasons why authorities are against crypto is because it is used to fund criminal activity they say. This can be true as it's available to anyone who can afford to buy it, without exception, it's decentralized, so it can't always be traced. However, most of the time this is just an excuse.

Russia's Prosecutor General's Office recently made its stance on Bitcoin abundantly clear. "Systems for anonymous payments and cyber currencies that have gained considerable circulation — including the most well-known, Bitcoin — are money substitutes and cannot be used by individuals or legal entities," the office said in a recent press release reported by Reuters. Any use of Bitcoin will be considered "potentially suspicious," as the Russian government has linked Bitcoin usage to illicit activities.
"Citizens and legal entities risk being drawn — even unintentionally — into illegal activity, including laundering of money obtained through crime, as well as financing terrorism," the release stated. source

This happened in 2014 but they had to realize they have no control over the matter. They can stop it, can't control it, and most of all, can't devalue it. Linking Bitcoin addresses to real ID-s is also difficult, so the right decision was to legalize the use of it, but not for everyone.

Control is everything and in countries where things are not going well politically and economically, one of the tools authorities like to use against protesters is suspending internet services to prevent people from organizing meetings on social media platforms, but also to prevent them from using their funds, mobile wallets. In some cases bank accounts are closed for the same reason. In these cases crypto comes in handy.

Image by Liam Ortiz from Pixabay

Alexei Navalny's movement has gotten 658 BTC in donations since 2016. For those of you not familiar with the name, Navalny is a Russian opposition leader, lawyer, and anti-corruption activist, who's sitting in jail at the moment. He was poisoned last year, was in coma, then he was taken to Germany, where they were able to save his life. Upon return to Russia, he was arrested and jailed, later convicted for breaking his conditional release agreement.

Right now he's the most prominent opponent of the current president of Russia, an uncomfortable element in the eyes of the current political power. The government is constantly trying to close down Navalni's campaign accounts, that's why they are accepting Bitcoin as donation.

Public officials in Russia on the federal and local levels, including Bank of Russia board members and chairs of government-owned corporations as well their spouses and under-age children, are not allowed to own cryptocurrencies and any digital assets issued outside the country. source

The law came into force in January and I'm sure authorities will do everything to monitor the situation closely and punish those who break the law. This is funny if not ridiculous, knowing what's happened in the past, in the 2016 U.S. elections to be precise.

According to an indictment released Friday by the DOJ, the Russian intelligence officers who orchestrated the 2016 hacks of the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign funded their operation using $95,000 worth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The hackers allegedly used the funds to purchase the domains, servers, and accounts involved in obtaining and disseminating the stolen materials. Charging “conspiracy to launder money,” the indictment states the arrangement allowed the hackers to “avoid direct relationships with traditional financial institutions, allowing them to evade greater scrutiny of their identities and sources of funds.” source

According to the above mentioned indictment, the hackers not only used Bitcoin to carry out their plan, but also mined it.

In response the U.S. government seized BTC-e in 2017, a cryptocurrency trading platform, BTC-e staff members were arrested for operating an alleged international money laundering scheme and allegedly laundering funds from the hack of Mt. Gox.

So looking at these events, it was ok for the Russian government to use Bitcoin to fun whatever actions were made to influence the U.S. elections in 2016 but it's not ok for Navalni to get donations in Bitcoin to fight against the current political power. Good thing they can't confiscate it.

The funny thing is that Putin met Vitalik Buterin in 2017. The meeting wasn't just a formal one for the media, I suspect Vitalik told the ex KGB agent what he has to know about crypto, but that wasn't enough to convince him to change his mind as the use of crypto is still a punishable act for government officials in Russia.

No one knows what the future holds but right now it looks like Bitcoin is a tool in the hands of those who can afford it. No matter how hard governments fight it, it can't be eliminated. Sooner or later it'll be accepted worldwide.

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