Julian Assange Release: A Political Move To Sway Bitcoin and Crypto Investors?

Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, has finally been released after nearly 1900 days in prison and shall be returning to his home country Australia very soon. Crypto market experts believe that this move is largely political in an attempt to sway Bitcoin and crypto investors, as Assange is quite a popular name in the crypto community.

Julian Assange Release to Drive Political Benefits?

The release of Julian Assange comes just ahead of the US 2024 Presidential Elections scheduled later this year. Assange has been quite popular in the crypto circles due to his pro-crypto stand in the past. during a recent Twitter Spaces, Simon Dixon, the founder of Bank To The Future said:

“I didn’t see this one coming, but in hindsight, it’s a great political move. Julian Assange is a huge figure in the Bitcoin and crypto sphere; he’s a hero to many. He exposed many of the atrocities that are still affecting much of the political situation that we’re experiencing today with the Israel and Palestine situation.”

Cryptocurrencies have taken center stage in the upcoming 2024 US Presidential Elections with both camps – Democrats and Republicans – trying to sway crypto investors.

Also Read: Trump Trade 2.0: Crypto Takes Center-Stage At US 2024 Elections

Assange And His Crypto Association

The journey of WikiLeaks notably intersects with the invention of Bitcoin more than a decade ago. At one point in time, Julian Assange turned to Bitcoin in order to raise funds as top payment processors like VISA, MasterCard, PayPal, and Amazon, decided to block payments to WikiLeaks.

Also Read: Visa Crypto Unit Launches Stablecoin Analytics Dashboard

Back in 2014, during a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, Assange also recounted the initial opposition from Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto for using the cryptocurrency on the WikiLeaks platforms. Nakamoto feared that the association with WikiLeaks could overwhelm Bitcoin during its early development stages. Assange said:

“I make this appeal to WikiLeaks not to try to use Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a small beta community in its infancy. You would not stand to get more than pocket change, and the heat you would bring would likely destroy us at this stage.”

Despite this, Assange was still an investor in Bitcoin reportedly making a return of 50,000%. However, his current state of Bitcoin holdings remains unclear.