Bitcoin is Neither Racist, Xenophobic, nor Misogynistic: A Response to Ideological Stereotyping

A few hours after the US election results were announced, I received messages from friends filled with startling assumptions. Some congratulated me and sarcastically said: “Congratulations, your team has won Bitcoin.” Others expressed their disapproval with phrases such as: “It’s pathetic!” and “I was shocked that Americans just voted for Hitler.” “You have been fortunate to have found safety in the United States as a refugee under the Biden administration,” a friend said. Refugees and asylum seekers will now have a harder time here, but, it’s still good for your Bitcoin. Many of these friends work in high-level corporate jobs or are college students.

As a green card holder, I was not eligible to vote, but I understand their great disappointment in seeing their preferred candidate lose. Their frustrations were directed towards me because they know I support Bitcoin and work in this space. I realize that making me a scapegoat says less about me and more about their limited understanding of what Bitcoin’s value represents.

I recognize that in this highly polarized political landscape, ideological stereotypes become evident — not just during election season but also in places where creative thinking should be encouraged. A prime example of this ideological bias occurred during the graduation ceremony at Ohio State University, where Chris Pan was present letter On Bitcoin, it was largely booed by students attending their graduation ceremony. I admire the courage he had to stand firm in front of over 60,000 people and continue his speech. I suspect that most of these graduate students have never encountered hyperinflation or grown up under authoritarian regimes, which is likely to trigger a “spontaneous rejection” response to concepts beyond their personal experience.

I have encountered similar resistance in my unfinished academic journey; During my time at Georgetown, I had many fruitless conversations with professors and students who viewed Bitcoin as a far-right tool. One time a professor told me:Win, just because cryptocurrency (he didn’t use the term Bitcoin) helped you and your people in your home country doesn’t make it a great tool – most people end up getting scammed in America and many parts of the world. I urge you to learn more about it“Power dynamics in academia often discourage open discourse, which is why I ultimately refrained from discussing Bitcoin with my professors.

I have learned to understand that freedom of expression is a fundamental American value. However, I have noticed that some demographics or communities label anyone they disagree with as a “racist.” In more extreme cases, this reaction can escalate into the use of influence to expel people from school, or subject them to coordinated cyberbullying. I am not claiming that racism does not exist in American society or anywhere else; I firmly believe that overt and subtle forms of racism still exist and are alive today.

Although bias and inequality are still widespread, Bitcoin operates on very different principles. Bitcoin is borderless, leaderless, and accepts any nationality or skin color without requiring any form of identity to participate. People in war-torn countries Convert their savings into Bitcoin to cross borders safely, Human rights defenders receive donations in BitcoinWomen living under Taliban rule receive their wages through the Bitcoin network.

Bitcoin is not racist because it is an empowering tool for anyone willing to participate. Bitcoin is not xenophobic because it gives those forced to flee their homes the ability to carry their hard-earned economic energy across borders and participate in another economy when all other options are closed. For activists, often labeled “criminals” by authoritarian regimes, this supports them with frozen bank accounts and blocked resources. For women, struggling with life under misogynistic rule, Bitcoin offers a rare opportunity for financial independence.

Returning to the context of the US elections, Bitcoin not only provides equal opportunities for people in the most forgotten places and darkest corners of the world, but it also opens new ways for US presidential candidates to engage with this growing community. President-elect Donald Trump has made bold promises regarding Bitcoin, indicating a favorable policy. In contrast, the campaign of Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris reportedly refused to support the Bitcoin community. Grant McCarty, co-founder of the Bitcoin Policy Institute, male“,”It can be confirmed that the Harris campaign was offered millions of dollars from companies, political action committees and individuals who were looking for her to hold meetings with key stakeholders in the cryptocurrency space and develop a specific plan for crypto policy. The campaign never took the industry seriously“I think this is something that most people may not be aware of, and confirmation bias often leads to the assumption that all Bitcoin supporters support every policy of the other side, including potentially radical changes to America’s humanitarian commitments like refugee resettlement and asylum programs. And anti-trafficking. human resources, protection of vulnerable populations, foreign aid and disaster relief.

Most people around the world lack a stable economic infrastructure or access to long-term mortgages; They live and win in currencies that are more volatile than gambling with cryptocurrencies, and in some cases, holding their fiat currency is just as risky as casino chips, or worse.

Fiat’s experiment has failed to achieve global majority. I believe that Bitcoin and bitcoin advocates deserve to be evaluated on their merits and work on global impact, not through the binary lens of political bias, misappropriated terminology, or the thin, factually flawed but socially acceptable categorization that allows them to opt out of learning. and evaluate assumptions.

This is a guest post by Win Ko Ko Aung. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.