Human Rights Leaders Seek Responsible Crypto Policy in Open Letter

A group of human rights advocates from around the world wrote an open letter to the US Congress in support of a “responsible crypto policy” citing the power they wield in countries where “local currencies are collapsing.”

This letter was an answer to the anti-crypto letter sent to Congress last week allegedly from a scientific community of 1500 computer scientists, software engineers, and technologists. The 25 lead signatures on this letter included renowned crypto writers and critics from developed, democratic countries.

The 21 human rights leaders who signed the pro-crypto letter were from countries that have either experienced recent conflicts or have otherwise unstable economies, like Russia, Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, and even North Korea.

The letter stated, “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.”

The letter further explained:

We are not financiers or professional lobbyists but humanitarians and democracy advocates who have used Bitcoin to assist people at risk when other options have failed.

Moreover, the group praised Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoins as essential tools in aiding democracy and freedom for tens of millions of others who have been living under authoritarian regimes or in volatile economies.

The call to action from these humanitarian thought leaders like Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer of the Human Rights Foundation; Lyudmyla Kozlovska from the Open Dialogue Foundation Ukraine; Meron Estefanos from the Eritrean Initiative on Refugee Rights along with others urged Congress to look into the empirical evidence shown in the numerous academic articles cited in the letter to consider the advantages of BTC and Stablecoins.

The 21 signatories also urged all human rights advocates and global citizens to show their support for a responsible crypto policy, if they have benefited from the technology. To support, one can sign the requisition until June 14, 2022.