Anonymous Bitcoin Whale Donates $500K in Bitcoin to Julian Assange

WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange recently received a significant donation of 8.07 bitcoin (BTC) from a single entity to aid in covering the expenses of a private jet that facilitated his departure from the UK to Australia after striking a plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Initially, Assange’s wife Stella launched an “emergency appeal” to raise £520,000 for the transportation costs, setting up a crowdfunding page that only allowed fiat currency donations via credit cards or bank transfers. Notably, the site did not accept crypto donations, prompting the family to swiftly establish another page to accept bitcoin contributions.

The bitcoin address received a total of 34 donations, surpassing $500,000, with the majority stemming from the 8.07 BTC donation. Additionally, the original fiat site also garnered around $500,000 in donations. Stella Assange emphasized the substantial cost associated with Julian’s journey to freedom, highlighting the obligation to repay $520,000 to the Australian government for the charter Flight VJ199, as commercial airlines or routes were not permitted for his travel to Saipan and onwards to Australia. Any form of contribution, regardless of size, was appreciated.

The private jet was arranged by the Australian government following Assange’s historic plea deal, where he pleaded guilty to espionage charges in exchange for his release. Bitcoin and Assange have a longstanding connection, with WikiLeaks relying on bitcoin over a decade ago when traditional banking channels were inaccessible. In a 2014 interview, Assange expressed how WikiLeaks and bitcoin mutually supported each other to survive challenging times.

Edited by Stephen Alpher.

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Author: Oliver Knight
Oliver Knight is a CoinDesk reporter based between London and Lisbon. He does not own any crypto.
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Read more about: btc, WikiLeaks, Bitcoin