How Edward Snowden Became a Crypto Star 

Edward Snowden has been energetic on Crypto Twitter over the previous few months, probably indicating a deep involvement within the house.

Edward Snowden and Crypto 

When Edward Snowden leaked labeled paperwork from the Nationwide Safety Company in 2013, he attracted media consideration worldwide. Then a pc intelligence marketing consultant employed by the U.S. authorities, Snowden gained notoriety for revealing that the Nationwide Safety Company was spying on Americans, prompting widespread debate about privateness and human rights. Some branded Snowden as a hero. Others known as him a traitor. Inside weeks of his story making headlines all over the world, he was charged with violating the Espionage Act of 1917. Snowden fled for Russia two days later. Now completely based mostly in Moscow, he was awarded citizenship earlier this 12 months. 

Because of the eye his leaked recordsdata acquired, Snowden is likely one of the world’s most well-known whistleblowers. However whereas most individuals acknowledge him for his fateful act in opposition to the world’s strongest authorities, he’s seen in a special gentle within the cryptocurrency house. Snowden was an early Bitcoin proponent, endorsing the highest cryptocurrency’s decentralized properties when the digital property ecosystem was a fraction of its present dimension. He’s been outspoken on the significance of privateness, one thing crypto’s most ardent believers have at all times supported. And extra just lately, he’s turn into a Crypto Twitter icon. Whereas Snowden’s ascent within the crypto house has caught a few of its believers off-guard, it shouldn’t shock those that’ve adopted his story. As a result of in lots of senses, Snowden ought to be one in all Web cash’s most blatant advocates. 

Privateness Is a Human Proper 

The U.S. authorities charged Snowden with espionage and stealing state property, however he argued that he was leaking the labeled recordsdata for the higher good. Snowden shared the paperwork with a number of journalists as a result of he didn’t agree together with his nation’s mass surveillance operations, and he felt that privateness was a primary human proper. 

It is smart, then, that he’s additionally supported privateness cash designed to assist individuals protect their monetary privateness. Nonetheless a distinguished public determine immediately, Snowden has repeatedly spoken out in regards to the significance of privateness. In April, it was revealed that he was one in all six individuals in Zcash’s “Parameter Era Ceremony,” serving to launch the zero-knowledge proof-based foreign money underneath the alias John Dobbertin. 

Snowden has additionally namechecked Bitcoin on many events, however he’s hinted that he thinks the highest cryptocurrency is flawed attributable to its public nature prior to now. “[Bitcoin] is failing as an digital money system as a result of money is basically supposed to be nameless,” he stated on the Consensus 2022 crypto convention. “I’m anxious a couple of world wherein our cash is used in opposition to us.”

Snowden has additionally expressed malcontent over the Division of Justice’s determination to sanction Twister Money, a privateness protocol that helps cryptocurrency customers obfuscate their transaction historical past. As central banks all over the world put together to launch their very own state-backed digital currencies that threaten to undermine the precept of a free society, Snowden’s views on privateness might turn into all of the extra pertinent over the following few years. 

Calling the Backside 

Each energetic crypto person needs they might nail tops and bottoms, however Snowden has confirmed he’s extra expert at timing the market than most. In March 2020, Snowden commented on the crypto market’s panicked response to COVID-19, taking a contrarian bullish view within the hours following a extreme crash that grew to become often called “Black Thursday.” The crypto market had tanked on the information that the coronavirus had been declared a worldwide pandemic, with Bitcoin and Ethereum plummeting over 40% in a day. However as merchants and holders warned of doom forward, Snowden supplied a extra optimistic tackle the scenario. “That is the primary time shortly I’ve felt like shopping for bitcoin,” he wrote. “That drop was an excessive amount of panic and too little cause.” Black Thursday would mark a generational backside for the highest cryptocurrency, and by 2021 it was main a bull market that spanned the whole crypto house. 18 months after Snowden known as out the “panic,” Bitcoin peaked at $69,000—a 1,600% enhance from the underside.  

Curiously, Snowden additionally chimed in on the state of the market shortly after the ecosystem was rocked by FTX’s collapse. In a one-sentence tweet posted on November 14, he warned of “bother forward” however stated he was “beginning to really feel the itch” to re-enter the market alongside a photograph exhibiting the place he’d nailed the March 2020 backside name.

There’s nonetheless lots of bother forward, however for the primary time shortly I am beginning to really feel the itch to reduce in. pic.twitter.com/saZXYq8MT2

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) November 14, 2022

Whereas it’s too early to say whether or not crypto has hit a neighborhood backside, Snowden has confirmed that he has his finger on the heartbeat concerning market strikes. Such prescience usually solely comes with expertise, hinting that Snowden seemingly has some. 

Crypto Twitter Memes

Snowden has made no secret of his perception within the significance of privateness and financial freedom over time, however he’s made his shut proximity to crypto notably apparent over the continued winter interval. Snowden has repeatedly surfaced in conversations on Crypto Twitter in latest months, adopting dialect like “lmeow” (crypto converse for “lmao,” popularized by the pseudonymous cat character CL) and interacting with fashionable “anon” accounts like DegenSpartan. 

Each time Snowden has appeared in Crypto Twitter conversations, the neighborhood has welcomed him with open arms. Crypto’s 24/7 diehards have expressed amazement that he might be “one in all us,” however Snowden’s deep curiosity is smart within the context of the know-how’s long-term potential.  

His clear understanding of the crypto neighborhood and its idiosyncratic nature exhibits that he’s deep within the reeds, following the fast-moving world shut sufficient to know the entire huge memes and personalities. Actually, some have speculated that he could have an “alt” account on Twitter particularly for interacting with crypto people. Snowden has not publicly confirmed whether or not he has any secret pseudonyms thus far, however it wouldn’t be shocking given his latest exercise. 

Topical Points 

As Snowden has turn into a extra distinguished face within the crypto neighborhood, he’s more and more weighed in on topical points within the house. Most notably, he’s shared his takes on the FTX disaster, calling out disgraced wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried over his fraudulent habits on the helm of the collapsed trade. On November 13, Snowden drew a comparability between Bankman-Fried and Twister Money developer Alexey Pertsev, taking pictures at SEC Chair Gary Gensler for his relationship with FTX’s former overlord. “The White Home sanctions and arrests youngsters for the “crime” of constructing privateness instruments to guard you, whereas “regulators” had been quietly palling round with the thieves who simply robbed 5 million individuals. The distinction? The thieves had been huge political donors,” he wrote. 

Snowden made an even bigger sacrifice than most individuals will ever face when he known as out injustice throughout the U.S. authorities in 2013, so his feedback on FTX and Twister Money shouldn’t shock anybody. Past these latest scandals, although, Snowden’s place in crypto feels apt. Many individuals are drawn to Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies as a result of they suppose the standard monetary system is flawed. Whereas Snowden has evangelized crypto as a know-how greater than a disruptive different to banks, it’s clear that he subscribes to the view that it might make the world a greater place. 

Most of crypto’s greatest fanatics would argue that this know-how is the world’s strongest pushback in opposition to authorities management. In 2013, Snowden went in opposition to his personal authorities to leak labeled info understanding that his actions might value him his freedom. Looking back, it appears apparent that he would turn into one in all crypto’s greatest stars.

Disclosure: On the time of writing, the creator of this piece owned ETH and different crypto property.