The man behind Wikileaks is a rich man. Like very rich.
As the value of the bitcoin continues to grow, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange claims that he has received a 50,000% return on his bitcoin investment. He made this announcement on Twitter.
Assange claims that he was forced into being an early investor in the bitcoin. He says that the American government and many other entities produced a banking blockade against him. This came as Assange and his Wikileaks website had been exposing details that might harm the United States.
Assange says that he started investing in the bitcoin years ago. It is estimated that he might have started during this in early 2011. This came before bitcoin exchanges appeared but as the bitcoin reached the same value as the American dollar.
Assange says on his Twitter message that the American government acted illegally in issuing a blockade against him after he announced some details relating to American military actions. He specifically cited John McCain and Joe Lieberman, two United States Senators, as key figures who kept him from doing business with others. His Twitter message also showed a chart illustrating the massive increase in the bitcoin’s value over the years.
How Much Money?
It is estimated that Julian Assange would have gotten $500 for every dollar that he invested in the bitcoin. This equates to a 50,000% return in the end.
It is also unknown as to how much money Assange would have spent on the bitcoin. His Wikileaks site says that it earned around €800,000 in donations in December 2010. However, the banking and financial blockade against his site led to him being unable to accept donations.
It is believed that he would have started investing in the bitcoin around this timeframe as it might have been one of the few financial options that he could have accepted at the time. This comes as the bitcoin is not regulated by any governmental entity, thus allowing him to freely use the cryptocurrency for funding his site or for taking in donations for his work.
If the €800,000 that he earned in December 2010 could have been invested in the bitcoin, he would have earned around €400 million. This is equal to a little less than half a billion American dollars.
About the Blockade
In 2010, several banking institutions and other groups refused to do business with Assange. This came as Bank of America and others refused to process transactions that Assange wanted to make. Around this time, Assange had leaked information on friendly fire activities among American military members during the war in Afghanistan plus details on civilian causalities caused by American forces.
Assange said on Twitter that he was blocked by MasterCard and Visa as well as PayPal, MoneyBookers and many other entities. He argues that the blockade is illegal.
Rising In Value
Julian Assange’s statement comes amid the bitcoin earning some of its greater increases in value in recent time. The bitcoin has become highly liquid with more trading taking place. The bitcoin has reached more than $5,000 in value and is anticipated to reach the $6,000 mark at some point.
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