Billionaires are using Greenpeace and climate hysteria in order to wage an attack against Bitcoin, launching an astroturfed “Change the Code” movement to get the world’s most popular cryptocurrency to change its design.
Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen is exploiting Greenpeace in an attempt to rid Bitcoin of their Proof-of-Work mechanism that they claim uses too much energy. They will be lobbying institutions within the Bitcoin industry to adopt their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda.
The removal of the Proof-of-Work mechanism would essentially defeat the entire purpose of Bitcoin, as it was revealed during Congressional hearings in January.
John Belizaire, who serves as CEO of Soluna Computing, said to Bitcoin Magazine that the cryptocurrency “can’t take the risk to shift” to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS), which is a consensus mechanism that “may actually undermine what has given [Bitcoin] its strength and growth.”
Bitcoin miner Bitfury CEO, who was formerly the acting comptroller of the currency and served as a witness during the Congressional hearing, Brian Brooks, said that Bitcoin technology could be used to make renewable energy viable in the United States if properly utilized.
Alex Gladstein, who serves as the chief strategy officer for the Human Rights Foundation, tweeted on Tuesday that Greenpeace joining in this effort could eventually backfire on them.
The irony of @Greenpeace sponsoring a PR attack on Bitcoin is quite painful.
Environmental activists face a high threat of frozen bank accounts and deplatforming.
Greenpeace has literally been targeted this way before and will need censorship-resistant fundraising tech again 🌍 pic.twitter.com/UZ3Ab1ZpYV
— Alex Gladstein 🌋 ⚡ (@gladstein) March 29, 2022
Some pro-Bitcoin federal lawmakers noted that this campaign is effectively working to destroy the cryptocurrency:
In other words, “Please ban Bitcoin #BTC.”
— Warren Davidson (@WarrenDavidson) March 29, 2022
This is a disingenuous play for federal regulatory capture. Don’t fall for it. Let ‘em compete. (With thx to @planb for the screenshot) pic.twitter.com/fnE4hjmd5t
— Cynthia Lummis 🦬 (@CynthiaMLummis) March 29, 2022
Liberty Conservative News has reported on Bitcoin’s potential to upend the financial order and give a stable, decentralized alternative to the waning dollar:
“Ron Paul believes that the cryptocurrency Bitcoin should be legalized as money. He made his position clear in an interview with Michelle Makori, editor-in-chief of Kitco News on June 2, 2021, where the former Texas congressman made the case for Bitcoin being money. Because of his belief that Bitcoin is money, Paul declared that Bitcoin should not be regulated.
“Right now, if you buy and sell gold, you get it taxed, they can do that. If you make a profit in Bitcoin, you read stories about people being taxed on it. You can’t tax money, you don’t tax it. If you bought a dollar a year ago and it went down 10%, you can’t take a loss because your dollar lost value,” Paul said to Makori.
This comes at a time when other states like China and Turkey are beginning to crack down on the cryptocurrency. The US will likely follow suit now that the Chair of the SEC, Gary Gensler, revealed that new regulations will be imposed on Bitcoin.
Paul observed that governments will always work diligently to crack down on competing currencies. Nevertheless, he is of the opinion that it’s crucial to allow free markets to determine what is the best currency to use.
“I will argue more the case for the legalization of freedom of choice and the people should make a decision, not the government,” he stated. “And the market will finally determine that my goal is to help legalize the competition. And I think the people will sort it out, freedom of choice will sort it out.”
The jury is still out on Bitcoin. Founded in 2009, Bitcoin is still a young technology that is in its gestational stage. It remains to be seen if it will be massively adopted. Regardless, money should be subject to free market competition just like any other good or service.
The good news is that Bitcoin emerged in a free market, where free individuals voluntarily assign it value. Competing currencies are a way to break the fiat money monopoly. Dr. Paul is correct in calling for the cryptocurrency to be free of government intervention. Government intervention could subvert Bitcoin’s original function as a free market economy.”
It is not likely that these attacks on Bitcoin will be successful. However, it does show that there are financial elites desperately trying to undermine the rise of the cryptocurrency.
