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Most people see Bitcoin as an investment or a technological advancement. But for millions of people living in unstable economies and oppressive regimes, the asset offers a rare escape hatch, says Human Rights Foundation strategy chief Alex Gladstein.
Goldstein said Bitcoin is “a very powerful human rights tool” at the 2025 Bitcoin Policy Summit on Monday.
For one, Goldstein said Bitcoin provided an avenue for many to escape hyperinflation or even just basic inflation. He said that while citizens of developed societies could save in stocks and bonds to escape inflation, most of the world did not have that privilege. On the other hand, Bitcoin is accessible to everyone, he said.
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“Bitcoin represents a fundamental new opportunity and a parallel system that’s equal for anyone in the world, like anyone can join it,” he said. “And that’s just so profound, especially given that it’s literally the best performing financial asset of the last 15 years.”
Gladstein also discussed Bitcoin’s potential to help individuals evade financial surveillance and censorship if used right, citing the increased weaponization of the financial system by autocratic and even some democratic leaders against opponents and activists.
“With Bitcoin, the ability of these leaders to do these things is completely decimated,” he said. “So it’s so much harder for governments to track people if they use Bitcoin the right way, without linking their ID to it. Obviously, if you’re self custodying your Bitcoin, governments can’t delete or freeze your stuff, and they certainly cannot hyperinflate you.”
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Gladstein said that Bitcoin has been solving these problems for activists since at least 2013, citing the protests against then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s government. He said the Human Rights Foundation was able to support protester with Bitcoin after their bank accounts were frozen.
Gladstein anticipates that the adoption of Bitcoin by activists globally will only continue to grow with time, citing similar occurrences in Russia, Nigeria and Belarus in recent years.
