Human right activists support responsible crypto policy in open letter to U.S. Congress

• These human rights activists labeled Bitcoin and stablecoins as financially liberating tools for people from ailing economies.
• They have urged the U.S. Congress to maintain an inclusive approach towards crypto in their monetary policies.

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In an open letter to the U.S. Congress, human rights activists from 20 different countries have voiced their support for a “responsible crypto policy”. These activists have praised Bitcoin and stablecoin calling them essential tools to support democracy and freedom for millions of people.

Interestingly, this open letter comes just a week after some top tech executives and academicians also wrote to the U.S. Congress to initiate strict actions on the crypto industry. It seems the human rights activists stand against the anti-crypto letter from these academicians.

This group of activists basically represents countries that have been under troubled economic conditions. The activists are from countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Nigeria, Iraq, Cuba, Venezuela, and North Korea. These countries often see Bitcoin and other public cryptocurrencies as financially liberating tools.

In the letter, the activists wrote that they are here to defend an open monetary system. They further said that they have used bitcoins in order to assist people when other monetary options have failed. In the letter, the activists wrote:

We write to urge an open-minded, empathetic approach toward monetary tools that are increasingly playing a role in the lives of people facing political repression and economic hardship.

We do not claim that Bitcoin and stablecoins solve every problem, or that they are entirely positive or without risk. But in contrast to the claims made by the authors of the anti-crypto letter, ample evidence suggests that Bitcoin has and will continue to empower Americans and global citizens in the coming decade

Bitcoins and stablecoins A boon in economic crisis

Owing to the current macroeconomic situation and geopolitical crisis, some countries are facing challenges of rising inflation and devaluating currencies. Thus, citizens of these countries have been finding financial solace in Bitcoin and other USD-pegged stablecoins.

These activists said that they relied on Bitcoin and stablecoins in the “struggle for freedom and democracy”. Also, tens of millions of people staying in troubled economies or authoritarian regimes rely on cryptocurrencies. The letter further notes:

Bitcoin provides financial inclusion and empowerment because it is open and permissionless. Anyone on earth can use it. Bitcoin and stablecoins offer ungated access to the global economy for people in countries like Nigeria, Turkey, or Argentina, where local currencies are collapsing, broken, or cut off from the outside world.

They have also quoted examples from around the world and countries facing hyperinflation such as Cuba, Venezuela, Nigeria, and Afghanistan. These countries have high crypto adoption due to a lack of proper financial infrastructure or uncontrollable inflation.

Nearly 1,500 computer scientists backed the anti-crypto letter submitted to Congress earlier this month. Lashing out at them, the human rights activists wrote:

The horrors of monetary colonialism, misogynist financial policy, frozen bank accounts, exploitative remittance companies, and an inability to connect to the global economy might be distant ideas [to those in the West]. To most of us and our communities — and to the majority of people worldwide — they are daily realities. If there were “far better solutions already in use” to overcome these challenges, we would know.