WikiLeaks Shop, the
merchandise arm of international anonymous publishing nonprofit WikiLeaks,
reported on Twitter Friday, April 20, that their account with crypto wallet and
exchange Coinbase has been blocked.
WikiLeaks Shop’s tweet
contains a screen grab from an alleged email from Coinbase that states the
organization violated their Terms of Service and therefore “can no longer
[receive] access to [their] service.” Coinbase has not responded to a requests
for comments on the specifics of WikiLeaks Shop’s violation by press time.
ANNOUNCE: Coinbase has blocked the official @WikiLeaks shop from its platform without notice or explanation. You can continue to donate #Bitcoin to WikiLeaks at https://t.co/lvhoyhlqUa. #Coinbase #DefendWL #Cryptocurrency #Ethereum #BitcoinCash #ReconnectJulian pic.twitter.com/4BSS023OOk— WikiLeaks Shop (@WikiLeaksShop) April 21, 2018
All proceeds of the
shop go to WikiLeaks operations, and customers can pay in Bitcoin, Litecoin,
Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Neo, Namecoin, Vertcoin, Monero and
ZCash through Coinpayments.net.
The official WikiLeaks
Twitter posted a call for a “global blockade” of Coinbase in response to the
block:
WikiLeaks will call for a global blockade of Coinbase next week as an unfit member of the crypto community. Coinbase, a large Californian Bitcoin processor, responding to a concealed influence, has blocked the entirely harmless @WikiLeaksShop in a decision approved by management. https://t.co/PAldF8b12P— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 21, 2018
Bitcoin (BTC) advocate
Andreas M. Antonopoulos tweeted that Coinbase has “repeated history,” as Bitcoin
has played an important role for WikiLeaks from the time when the nonprofit was
legally unable to use traditional banking systems:
We have come full circle. Many people's interest in bitcoin started when Wikileaks was out under an extra judicial embargo by VISA, MC, PayPal and banks. Now Coinbase has repeated history. Oops. https://t.co/b8HQkoOwyQ— Andreas M. Antonopoulos (@aantonop) April 21, 2018
Last fall, WikiLeaks
leader Julian Assange publicly thanked the US government on Twitter for forcing
the organization to rely on Bitcoin due to the banking embargo, giving
WikiLeaks a 50,000 percent return. Assange also urged WikiLeaks donors to use
cryptocurrencies for their donations as a way to avoid this financial blockade.
The WikiLeaks website accepts Bitcoin, Litecoin, Monero, and ZCash for
donations.
Antonopoulos added in a
comment to his tweet that this embargo by Coinbase is unlike the first in that
it is “purely symbolic,” as there are other crypto wallets out there, but that
the “symbolism is a pretty poignant reminder of what centralization and banking
regulations mean.”
Cassandra NoWar Fairbanks Also added in her tweet that saying this was done without any explanation.
Bitcoin Processor Coinbase Bans @WikiLeaksShop, Refuses to Provide Explanation https://t.co/4y6i8ypF34— Cassandra NoWar Fairbanks (@CassandraRules) April 21, 2018
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