Bitcoin Infiltrates Nicaragua - Supporting Freedom Fighting w/ Felix Maradiaga

Felix Maradiaga is a pro-democracy activist from Nicaragua who specializes in nonviolent resistance. He’s also a trustee at Freedom House, an organization that supports democratic movements around the globe, and he’s the winner of the 2023 Sergei Magnitsky Human Rights Award.

We spoke with Felix at the Bitcoin Policy Summit in Washington, DC about the crucial work he does in advocating for democratic restoration in his home country, which is currently under the control of autocratic leader Daniel Ortega. Under Ortega, Nicaragua has seen significant declines in freedoms, as highlighted in the Freedom in the World report. Due to severe repression, over 1,700 Nicaraguans have been imprisoned and 12% of the population forced into exile. Felix falls into both categories.

Felix says that Bitcoin is a technology that helps support freedom fighters both in Nicaragua and elsewhere who are on the front lines of doing human rights and pro-democracy work. It’s a technology that helps activists to preserve their anonymity so that they aren’t targeted by oppressive governments. In other words, Bitcoin helps activists combat financial repression from political dictators.

Sergei Magnitsky Human Rights Award: https://www.magnitskyawards.com/about...
Bitcoin Policy Summit: https://www.btcpolicysummit.org/
Freedom in the World report: https://freedomhouse.org/report/freed...

Timestamps
00:00 The Political Situation in Nicaragua
01:55 Bitcoin as a Tool for Freedom Fighters
04:21 The Need for Policymakers to Embrace Bitcoin
06:37 Collaboration for Freedom and Human Rights

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