Contact: Christopher Lawless, Free State Project
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Email:
clawless@freestateproject.orgPhone: 603-738-9213
NON-PROFIT GIVING MONEY AWAY TO RAISE MONEY
Project is sending digital Bitcoin currency to thousands of members
Oct. 8, 2011
Manchester, New Hampshire - The Free State Project is using the new online currency Bitcoin as a creative new promotional tool – ironically giving away free money, literally, to every subscriber on its mailing list.
In one week, the non-profit organization – which is an effort to encourage 20,000 “liberty lovers” to move to New Hampshire to work toward greater individual and economic freedom – will send a fraction of a Bitcoin to over fifteen-thousand subscribers on its mailing list. Each recipient will get exactly 0.01 Bitcoins, worth approximately $0.04 at current exchange rates.
The goal, as stated by Christopher Lawless, a Free State Project participant, is “primarily to inform our members that we are now accepting Bitcoin as a payment method for donations and event registration fees, but also to raise awareness of this new currency, which should be of interest for anyone who advocates liberty and voluntary exchange – principles at the core of our project.”
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital commodity, which emerged as an open-source project in 2009. Its supply is controlled by a hard-coded mathematical formula, as opposed to a central bank, and no person, company, or organization has monopoly control over it (in contrast to every other online payment method). The system enables instant, direct transfers between any two people, anywhere in the world, with avoidance of any bank or financial institution – and all those fees.
“The key is that this system is not transferring dollars, or euros, but instead an entirely new form of currency with a floating exchange rate based purely on supply and demand,” explains Ira Miller of BTCinch, the Denver-based company which built the email system for sending Bitcoins being used by the Free State Project. “Bitcoin is becoming an international phenomenon, and we’re happy to see the Free State Project staying ahead of the curve.”
“This simply couldn’t have been done with US dollars and traditional banking systems,” says Roger Ver, the FSP member who donated the Bitcoin funds for the promotion. “I currently live in Japan, and this initiative required transferring the donation internationally, and then dividing that money into thousands of micropayments, all going to different people in different places. A bank wire from Japan to the US would’ve taken at least three days plus fees. With Bitcoin it took less than three seconds with no fees. Try to send someone a nickel with Paypal and you’ll find the fee itself is more than a nickel. ”
Bitcoin also permits recipients to maintain their financial privacy – a big concern in an age of identity theft and online bank scams. In fact, the Free State Project doesn’t need any financial information of its members in order to send them Bitcoins – all it needs is an email address.
“We’re hoping some of the gifts will be sent back as donations to us, but the more important goal was to find a creative way to announce this new donation method to our members. Our eyes are on the long-term, the future, and Bitcoin is very exciting for our project and human freedom in general,” says Lawless.
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The Free State Project is an agreement among 20,000 pro-liberty activists to move to New Hampshire, where they will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of government is the protection of life, liberty, and property.
For further information, please contact Chris Lawless with the Free State Project at
clawless@freestateproject.orgPress Release:
http://bit.ly/qQevfPI'd like to have this Press Release posted on the major Bitcoin news outlets and will be contacting some of you for this purpose. If you'd like any details, please contact me for any relevant info (erikvoorhees [a t] gmail). Original link to the Press Release is here:
http://bit.ly/qQevfP and I can provide PDF version to any interested parties.
FYI this will be announced on nationally-syndicated Free Talk Live this evening. The "Bitcoin Blast" will be sent next weekend. Free State Project's Liberty Forum will be accepting Bitcoin as a payment method for registration (this event occurs in February at the Crowne Plaza in Nashua, New Hampshire - past speakers have included Ron Paul, Judge Napolitano, John Stossel, Cato staff, etc.). Bitcoin will have a large presence this year, and if you'd like to be a speaker or vendor at the event please contact me. Further, future events and FSP's online store will accept Bitcoin shortly.
BIG THANK YOU to Roger Ver of Memory Dealers who is funding this blast next weekend, and Ira and Victor of BTCinch.com for the email/payment/ewallet system - they've been extremely attentive and helpful as we get this launched.
And PLEASE DONATE to Free State Project if you care about liberty! The project is becoming a great ally of Bitcoin, so please show your support! Or better yet, sign up and get your ass out here! Donate here:
http://freestateproject.org/getinvolved/donate.php
