Chelsea Manning is not a firm believer in the token’s economic perspective or its use for international payments, but she does think that Bitcoin (BTC), the dominant cryptocurrency on the market, has sound technology supporting it.
Before the 2021 cryptocurrency market boom, Manning supported Bitcoin. Manning, who is famous for disclosing sensitive information about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to Wikileaks in 2010, claimed in an interview with Decrypt that she had been keeping track of BTC’s development because it piqued her interest in cryptography. The interview was published on Monday.
The study and application of methods for secure communication is known as cryptography.
As opposed to “a way to get rich quick,” Manning claimed that at first she saw Bitcoin as “a cute, gimmicky little tool that is a proof of concept.” The American activist and whistleblower also admitted that she frequently read email chains containing references to Bitcoin.
The former military intelligence officer said in the interview that she views Bitcoin as a tool for storing data in a decentralized manner so that anyone can access it. She did not anticipate BTC to develop into a means of making money by accumulating code, though.
Manning stated, “I have a great interest in the technology [of blockchain], but I’m a little more skeptical about the economic aspect. “I just don’t see how something [that] can go from having some value to not having value very quickly is any kind of system that can be sustained,” the author said.
Manning claimed that Bitcoin is “revolutionary” in terms of safeguarding message contents, maintaining privacy, and authenticating sources. She added that she lost interest in the most popular cryptocurrency when Bitcoin’s economics started to take center stage.
She explained why she left: “I realized that there are a lot of people who don’t understand the technical aspects of this, or the security and privacy implications of this technology, but they view this as a cool brand to be a part of.”
Manning added that she currently sees a connection between Bitcoin’s economic features and its privacy-related features.
She said, “I think that those kinds of things keep a lot of the more privacy-minded, more security-minded people away. People jump on board, they get super excited, and they cash in as soon as it starts to tumble.
