“How do these people know about Bitcoin?” my friend in America asked me through Signal. I was in Thailand, and I texted back, “Because Bitcoin is not racist.” It might sound funny at first, but it’s actually a serious thing. Lately, I’ve noticed that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are getting a lot of extreme criticism and misunderstanding, especially from progressive groups in America. Even some of the smartest people out there mix everything up. They call it a scam, or say it’s only for white supremacists or criminals.
To me, it’s fair to say that well-known politicians, the ones most people like on the internet, don’t really get Bitcoin technology or cryptocurrencies; then there’s Trump, who says good things about crypto, and the way mainstream media cherrypicks and chooses what to show, it all makes people feel like their opinions are right.
It’s like judging an immigrant’s intelligence, potential, or talents just by their skin color or the way they speak English. If someone has an accent, it means they know other languages and worked hard to learn English too. On top of that, they might have been doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, politicians, or even public figures before they came to America, or before they had to flee their home countries.
In American media, Bitcoin almost always looks like a toy for Donald Trump and billionaires. But there’s a bigger story people don’t see. Trump coins and other cryptocurrencies are not Bitcoin. The real power of Bitcoin is how it works globally. It is leaderless, decentralized, giving people everywhere a chance to take control of their own hard-earned money.
I grew up in Burma (Myanmar), and I think most Bitcoin critics in America have never lived under an authoritarian regime. In places like that, you either fight for your rights at risk of your bank account being frozen, or you focus on your own business and earn local fiat money that loses value eventually. Without Bitcoin, there’s no other way out. For them, Bitcoin is the third option, the best one and the best hope, to escape that invisible giant prison and step into digital freedom in the cyberspace. You might wonder how many people live like this. According to the Human Rights Foundation’s report, about 5.7 billion people are under fully authoritarian or hybrid regimes. And now, with Central Bank Digital Currencies coming in those countries, these governments can use a centralized financial system to control people even more, oppressing them with just a click.
Just like American media skips over the amazing ways Bitcoin can help people, they also ignore the deadly conflicts in places like Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, DRC, Rwanda, Burma (Myanmar), Haiti, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Yemen—countries with over 375 million people combined. When was the last time you saw an update about them? Probably not recently. And yet, Bitcoin has been a lifeline for people there.
I’ve talked to people from North Korea, Ukraine, Russia, Palestine, Sudan, Ethiopia, Burma (Myanmar), Lebanon, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan about how they used Bitcoin during wars, hyperinflation, or political persecution. I have had first-hand experience too. I used Bitcoin to escape Myanmar after the 2021 military coup when my bank accounts were frozen and the Burmese military targeted me. We all share two things: Bitcoin saved us, and the mainstream media doesn’t care about our stories. Only a few niche publications and podcasters covered our journeys. I’ve also spoken with people from Thailand, Tanzania, South Africa, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burundi, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Nepal, and India about how they use Bitcoin to protect their wealth. But their clever solutions in places with developing infrastructure or under-developed economies also get no attention from the media either.
Let me uncover the truth: Bitcoin doesn’t discriminate who you are. It opens the door for anyone to join, no matter their gender, skin color, country, or nationality. Diversity is Bitcoin’s strength, unlike fiat currencies that only work in their own little kingdoms or giant virtual prison. Even with all the progress in our world and the internet spreading everywhere, old-fashioned ID systems are still behind. Around 850 million people globally don’t have proper IDs to even open a bank account. In Pakistan, for example, about 45% of people have smartphones and internet, but only 18% have bank accounts. In Africa, 43% can get online, but 57% are unbanked. Bitcoin is a game-changer for this forgotten majority, bringing equality and inclusion to the 21st-century economy. By joining the Bitcoin network, they get a fair chance – a shot like people in countries with powerful reserve currencies. This decentralized technology lets them skip outdated gatekeepers and corrupt officials who usually take a cut of their labor, energy, and time.
Bitcoin is growing quietly among the global majority, the people the international community keeps ignoring. I hope this piece pushes the progressive community to look beyond the surface of cryptocurrency’s pump-and-dump schemes and Trump’s narrow crypto ideas, and see the real potential here… in Bitcoin specifically. It’s about so much more than what is happening only in America.
