© Reuters Activists stress that bitcoin is “the money of freedom”
Miami, Apr 7 (.).- Human rights activists highlighted this Thursday at the 2022 conference cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies as ideal tools in favor of freedom and “financial independence”.
During the second day of this meeting around the most famous digital token that is being held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida (USA), the North Korean activist Yeonmi Park explained that in her country there is no private property and that even the word “gain” is prohibited.
The young woman, who fled North Korea at the age of 13 and soon after fell into the hands of human traffickers, criticized North Korea’s financial system and the Kim Jong-un government’s economic policies around exchange rates. , which “turned into nothing” the savings of many people.
At a panel moderated by Alex Gladstein of the Human Right Foundation, Park noted that in their escape from North Korea, often with the goal of reaching the United States, many women end up in China as “sex slaves,” and if they arrive to have children, the Communist Party does not recognize these children and does not give them an identity document, without which they cannot go to school.
“There is a way we can empower these women and children with “, said the young activist.
In this line, the Palestinian activist in favor of democracy Fadi Elsalameen pointed out that virtual currencies such as bitcoin are “peace tools”, especially when government and financial institutions are involved in corruption, as is the case in the state of Palestine, he said. .
“The more I learn about bitcoin, the more I realize that if someone can be their own bank with bitcoin, I prefer to use bitcoin,” he said, after explaining how complicated it would be to make an international transfer to his mother in Lebanon.
In her turn, the human rights activist Farida Nabourema, from Togo, said that “bitcoin is the money of decolonization”, after pointing out how in this West African country, which was a colony of France, the local currency, the Togolese franc, has little value.
“In 1964 and 1969, the French government decided to halve the value of our money,” Nabourema said, explaining that as a result “more than 50% of the population” lives in extreme poverty.
Nabourema pointed out that he is developing a campaign to educate the African population about bitcoin.
During the second day of the Bitcoin 2022 conference, a four-day conclave that will allow doing business, learning about the latest news and listening to experts, specialists such as the Mexican Ricardo Salinas, president of Grupo Salinas, participated.
The businessman warned that “the poorest people, the people who do not have goods, cars, shares, are going to be annihilated” by inflation.
Milena Mayorga, El Salvador’s ambassador to the United States, was also present, who spoke about the implementation of bitcoin in this Central American country, the first to adopt this virtual currency as legal tender.
Mayorga participated on behalf of the president of this country, Nayib Bukele, who by means of a letter excused himself from not being able to attend this celebration of the “power of freedom” and “humanity”, due to “unforeseen circumstances” that require their “full presence” in El Salvador.
High-profile athletes such as Odell Beckham Jr. and Aaron Rodgers, both from the American professional league, and tennis player Serena Williams have also taken to the main stage.
“I really like, I really like cryptocurrencies, in particular bitcoin, it really stands out because it’s very unique and different,” said Williams, who has investments in companies that operate in the world of virtual currencies.
Organized by Bitcoin magazine and the brands around Bitcoin Inc., this conference has the number one objective of accelerating “hyper bitcoinization”, as it proclaims on its website.
It is an event that, in addition to a conference, includes a music festival, an art gallery and a trade fair with more than 200 companies from the bitcoin world as exhibitors, as well as a multitude of parallel events.
