Julian Assange’s Plea Deal Commuted: Urgent Appeal for Funds and Bitcoin Donations
Julian Assange, the former editor-in-chief of Wikileaks, has been granted a plea deal and his sentence has been commuted to time served, making global headlines. His next move is to travel to Saipan and then back to his homeland, Australia. However, the financial burden on him is far from over, despite five years of imprisonment and a deal that didn’t fully pardon him. His fiance, Stella Assange, revealed that this journey to freedom will personally cost Julian a staggering $520,000 USD. The family is urgently appealing for funds to cover the travel expenses and to support his recovery after a grueling ordeal.
While every contribution counts, some have noted that the donation platform could only take credit/debit cards and bank payments and asked if there was a Bitcoin address where they could donate. Now, a BTCPay POS setup allows one to generate on-chain and Lightning Network invoices for the Assange campaign. His brother, Gabriel, set up this system, allowing for easy and secure donations in Bitcoin.
BTCPay has become a favored way to process payments for those looking to benefit from Bitcoin’s decentralized and censorship-proof properties. It shows the power of Bitcoin outside of traditional banking systems. Julian Assange and his family have long been involved in the Bitcoin community, with Julian himself discussing accepting Bitcoin donations for Wikileaks and expressing his fascination with the cryptocurrency.
His family has also used innovative techniques such as inscribing Wikileaks war logs into the Bitcoin blockchain to continue his legacy. Now that Julian is out of prison, the legacy of engagement with Bitcoin may continue. Bitcoiners can now support Julian and his family by donating to a BTCPay instance in either on-chain Bitcoin or Lightning Network. With a significant donation already recorded, it appears the Bitcoin community is resolved to support Julian and his family in their time of need.
