The Contradictions of the Alt-Right Embracing Bitcoin for Crowdfunding

 Alt-Right leaders are increasingly turning to bitcoin to  conduct fundraising following account closures from leading crowdfunding  platforms. Despite the libertarian underscoring of many cryptocurrency  projects, the use of bitcoin poses several fundamental challenges to  altright ideology. Also Read: Russian GPU Prices Spike, Miners Turn to International Markets for Graphics Cards 

Crowdfunding Has Increasingly Become a Staple Business Model for Many ‘White Nationalists’

Since its inception, bitcoin has been lauded by the  libertarian-leaning constituent of the right wing community. The  realization of decentralization, trustless financial autonomy, and  peer-to-peer transactions without third party verifications have obvious  appeals to proponents of small government. Despite the appeals of  cryptocurrency with hard-right leaning groups, few expected that bitcoin  would increasingly become popularized as a tool embraced by altright  political organizations. 

 In a move apparently at odds with the altright’s ideological leaning,  crowdfunding has increasingly become a staple business model for many  ‘white nationalists’. The reliance upon small donors has occurred due to  many advertisers being unwilling to be associated with individuals  perceived to be racist or hateful, as well as many vocal ‘white  nationalists’ finding themselves with limited employment opportunities  outside of the movement. The transition towards crowdfunding has been a  bumpy road, however, as many popular crowdfunding platforms have closed  the accounts of altright individuals seeking to utilize their platforms,  sparking the increasing popularization of bitcoin among pro-white  figures. Kyle Chapman, a 42-year-old ex-con who has risen to prominence within  the altright following the circulation of videos of Chapman assaulting  anti-fascist protesters, started an account with Gofundme  to raise money for bail, only to have his account suspended for  violating the website’s terms of service. “In this particular instance  we removed it because it was in defense or support of anyone involved in  criminal activity”, Gofundme said with regards to Chapman’s account.  Chapman then attempted set up a crowdfunding campaign with Paypal, who  also shut down his account following the surfacing of more footage  depicting Chapman’s violence. Although some altright personalities have  been able to fund campaigns via Patreon, self-identified white  nationalist Emily Youcas had her Patreon account removed recently,  illustrating the shortage of financing options available to outspoken  ‘white nationalists’. The increasing restriction of viable means for the altright to  generate revenue has resulted in a reliance on small donors, including  heavy encouragement of donations in the form of bitcoin. 

The Altright’s Adoption of Bitcoin Poses Numerous Contradictions to Many Fundamentals of White Nationalist Ideology

“Bitcoin is the currency of the alt right,” read a recent tweet from www.altright.com  co-editor, Richard Spencer. The for-profit organization accepts monthly  donations of between $10 and $60 and annual donations of between $1,000  and $10,000, accepting donations in the form of bitcoin, cash, or  Paypal. Neo-nazi website www.dailystormer.com also encourages bitcoin  donations, launching a crowdfunding campaign for the website’s legal defense budget last month that promotes bitcoin as its preferred means of donation 

 Aside from the curious reliance of right-wing figures upon donations  as a source of revenue, it is surprising that ‘white nationalists’ have  been so quick to embrace a network dominated by Chinese miners. With  much of the security and robustness of the bitcoin network reliant upon  actors disparately located across the world, the United States’ position  of dominance within cryptocurrency seeing a sustained demise since  2012, and rising transaction fees, the altright’s increasing adoption of  bitcoin will generate considerable revenue for international bitcoin  miners in the future through transaction fees. Do you think that more controversial entities will  gravitate toward bitcoin adoption? Share your thoughts in the comments  section below!