http://original.antiwar.com/nozomi_hayase/2015/04/09/with-looming-financial-war-bitcoin-ushers-in-peaceful-insurrection/In the aftermath of Edward Snowden’s revelations of NSA mass surveillance, global outrage ensued, degrading the credibility of the US before the rest of the world. Subsequent reports revealed how the intelligence agency intercepted German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone conversations. Trust was shaken even among US allies when a report emerged that the US had threatened Germany over Snowden’s possible asylum.
While attacks on journalists and whistleblowers continue in many countries, Bitcoin is becoming a refuge also for those dissidents in the West. Cryptocurrencies have been used to circumvent private payment companies’ banking blockades against WikiLeaks as well as for donating funds to Snowden.