“No American is safer because Ross Ulbricht is in jail for life. He is just one more casualty of our futile war against drugs.”
Read more: https://reason.com/archives/2018/02/07/government-threw-silk-roads-founder-in-j/print
“Lyn Ulbricht is Ross Ulbricht’s mother. Ross was the creator of the Silk Road website, which had a very important role in the history of bitcoin. Currently, Ross is serving a double life sentence without parole for all non-violent charges. Lyn has worked to bring awareness to the case and raise funds for Ross’s defense through www.FreeRoss.org. She has had many media interviews and public appearances and has helped bring awareness to the public of the case and Ross’s appeals. Her efforts have shined light into the darkness of the justice system, proving it to be a darker place than anywhere found on the dark web.”
“If they’re going to be so explicit in their hostility to the anonymity and liberty those means of exchange offer people, we should take them at their word. Let’s be clear in response that what they see as problems are the precise features we like about cash and cryptocurrencies. We support our well-worn folding money and bitcoin and its successors to come precisely because they put at least some of our activities beyond the reach of control freaks who want to monitor, tax, and regulate our lives.”
Read more: https://reason.com/archives/2018/02/06/governments-hate-bitcoin-and-cash-for-th
“Encrypted messaging startup Telegram plans to launch its own blockchain platform and native cryptocurrency, powering payments on its chat app and beyond. With cryptocurrency powered payments inside Telegram, users could bypass remittance fees when sending funds across international borders, move sums of money privately thanks to the app’s encryption, deliver micropayments that would incur too high of credit card fees, and more.”
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/08/telegram-open-network/
“Tech companies and many cyber security experts have said that any measure ensuring that law enforcement authorities are able to access data from encrypted products would weaken cyber security for everyone. U.S. officials have said that default encryption settings on cellphones and other devices hinder their ability to collect evidence needed to pursue criminals.”
“Zuckerberg outlined two areas of technology that he wanted to research in 2018: encryption and cryptocurrencies. He said both technologies led to decentralised power, which Zuckerberg saw as a positive move. Zuckerberg wasn’t explicit in his post about Facebook’s plans regarding cryptocurrencies. He didn’t say the company would add bitcoin as a payment option, for example. But it shows that one of the world’s most powerful companies is looking closely at the technology.”
“The government has blocked popular messaging services like Telegram and Signal, in addition to several internet networks. Yet despite censorship and civil unrest, the Iranian bitcoin community is growing rapidly. Iranian customers protested outside local branches in 2017, demanding deposits because they worry some of the country’s largest credit institutions are on the verge of collapse. Meanwhile, Iranians remain politically ostracized from most international businesses and financial institutions. Part of the inspiration behind the Iranian revolution in 1979 was a belief that the Shah’s regime perpetuated economic inequality.”
Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/bitcoin-adoption-rate-iran-surges-despite-censorship-protests-2636607
“In his tweet, Assange called out current and former senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman, respectively, for forcing him into seeking alternative sources of funding which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. At the time, Lieberman called for the Department of Justice to indict Assange under the 1917 Espionage Act and sought his extradition from the UK for leaking US Embassy cables.”
Read more: https://www.rt.com/usa/406729-assange-wikileaks-bitcoin-investment/
“In addition to selling a computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) mill which can complete unfinished lower receivers for AR-15 semi-auto rifles, Defense Distributed will now sell unfinished receivers for Glocks and single-stack M1911s. Using Defense Distributed’s mill, known as the Ghost Gunner, anyone with $1,600 and some basic milling knowledge can create the lower receiver of an AR-15 rifle.”
“The US government is fighting to keep a former police officer in prison because he claims not to be able to remember the code to decrypt two hard drives under investigation. The ex-cop has twice appealed the decision to detain him, once in federal court and once in the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals. His lawyers argue that holding him breaches his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself. The government is also arguing that, as Rawls didn’t use his Fifth Amendment rights in his initial appeal he can’t try to use that defense now.”
Read more: https://www.theregister.co.uk/AMP/2017/08/30/ex_cop_jailed_for_not_decrypting_data/