I am writing because we share the same core goals: to fight corruption, to protect those vulnerable to exploitation, and to build a financial system that is fair and just, not rigged for the powerful.
Your letter asks for laws to protect people from financial harm. I am writing from Kenya to ask you to please get your facts straight. The mistakes in your letter are causing real harm to people like me.
You talk about corruption and scams. This is a valid concern. Punish the corrupt. Stop the scams. Meme coins and influencer rug-pulls are a cancer. Write laws to protect people from them and hold everyone accountable, from celebrities to politicians.
But you must understand the difference. The scams you describe, the ones designed to enrich a centralized pool of founders and VCs, are not Bitcoin. Bitcoin was created after the 2008 crisis for the exact reason you cite: to stop the speculation and bank bailouts by creating a sound, transparent system no one controls.
This is why Stella Assange described Bitcoin as the “real Occupy movement,” a tool for human rights activists and the unbanked long before any politician touched it. Do not blame the tool for the bad actors who misuse it. Target the bad actors.
You say crypto is for crime. Your own U.S. Treasury Department says, “the use of virtual assets for money laundering remains far below that of fiat currency.” Why don’t you know this? The transparent, public ledger of Bitcoin is actually a powerful tool for tracing money and catching criminals, something traditional, opaque finance can’t offer.
Your biggest mistake is about the environment. Your claims are old and wrong. They ignore reality:
Bitcoin mining profits are helping save Africa’s renowned Virunga National Park, which is home to half of our continent’s biodiversity.
In Ethiopia, they are using it to pay for power lines to reach people who have no electricity.
In my country, as well as Malawi and Zambia, Bitcoin is funding solar micro-grids for tens of thousands of villagers.
Bitcoin has been shown in many peer-reviewed papers, independent reports, and case studies to be speeding up the clean energy transition and stabilizing the grid. Africa feels the impact of climate change first, so this is critical to us. I was surprised that you are unaware of this.
When Bitcoin was added to the grid in my country, it didn’t raise electricity prices for local villagers; it lowered them. The same has been shown in other countries like your own. How is it you are not aware of this?
When you repeat false claims about Bitcoin, Africa’s often authoritarian governments recycle your words (often verbatim) to try to ban it. They don’t like Bitcoin because it gives people freedom they can’t control.
When my African brothers and sisters protest against authoritarian rule in Nigeria, they can do so because they fund their campaigns with Bitcoin, which their government cannot track or freeze. When you use your voice to repeat false claims, you are helping dictators without knowing it.
You warn that crypto could cause a financial crisis like in 2008. But the banks (Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank) that failed in 2023 failed from centralized mismanagement, not Bitcoin. True financial instability comes from centralized systems, not from a decentralized network that can’t be bailed out. Your fear is aimed at the wrong target.
You want strong, enforceable rules. That’s fair. But the “regulation by enforcement” you call for doesn’t just scare scammers, it also kills the innovation I need. The wallet I use, the service that lets me receive my newsletter payment, the company that helps me convert Bitcoin: these tools are often built by U.S. developers.
When U.S. policy is hostile and unclear, these innovators get “de-banked” or shut down out of fear. When you make it legally dangerous to build Bitcoin tools in America, you take those tools away from me in Kenya. You are regulating my financial life from Washington.
For you, money is stable. For me, my national currency has lost most of its value over the years. Bitcoin is how I save and get paid without losing half of it in fees. It is a lifeline. When you call it useless or dirty, you are calling my lifeline useless and dirty.
You want to help. Then help by learning. Do not spread misinformation that hurts us. Make sharp laws that stop real criminals, but do not kill the tool that is saving the marginalized you claim to protect.
Look at the evidence from Africa. See what Bitcoin is actually doing. Then use your powerful voice to fight for precision, not prejudice.
Sincerely,
Elvis Gwaro
A young Kenyan who uses Bitcoin to build a better life.
Elvis Gwaro is a Civil Engineer, Web Developer, and Writer focused on freedom tech. Currently, he is engaged in the structural design and implementation of large-scale food processing factories that serve hundreds of thousands of farmers across Kenya. Beyond critical infrastructure, Elvis is a dedicated Bitcoin educator. He ghostwrites educational content and builds engaging web experiences for progressive Bitcoin brands and personalities. While he discovered Bitcoin in 2015, his focus shifted in 2020 from price action to its fundamental value as the most powerful tool for social and financial freedom and in the development of renewable energy. Through TPB, Elvis is excited to research Bitcoin’s role in advancing human rights, energy infrastructure, and financial empowerment across Africa.
