Bitcoin Bros’ Silence to Coinbase Ban of Milo Yiannopoulos Is Deafening
Bitcoin evangelists' deafening silence to Coinbase's ban of conservative activist Milos Yiannopoulos undercuts the myth of crypto openness. | Source: MARK GRAHAM / AFP
By CCN.com: Bitcoin evangelists’ silence in the face of Coinbase banning gay Jewish conservative activist Milo Yiannopoulos is deafening. Their refusal to condemn the ban undercuts the myth of crypto as a foil to traditional banking institutions.
If anything, bitcoin bros’ collective silence suggests that the crypto community is little more than a cheap knockoff of the corrupt financial establishment they brag they’re rebelling against.
Bitcoin Exchange Coinbase banned Milo Yiannopoulos in three minutes
On May 3, Milo said he was banned within three minutes of trying to open an account on Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. No reason was given.
Moreover, Coinbase has yet to return CCN.com’s emails and calls for comment on this story.
Obviously, Coinbase is a business, and it has the right to ban whomever it wants. But a leading crypto exchange banning an openly gay Jewish man simply for his political beliefs has shades of tech totalitarianism.
Coinbase ban follows Chase Bank’s purge of conservatives
Yiannopoulos is a controversial British media personality who was a former editor at Breitbart. He has been branded a “far-right extremist” by the left-wing media for condemning political correctness.
To be clear, many people find Milo obnoxious and offensive, including this writer. But to deplatform a non-violent individual simply for his political beliefs is laughable — and tragic.
Coinbase’s ban of Yiannopoulos mirrors a similar draconian censorship being promulgated by Chase Bank.
In February 2019, Chase suspended the account of Iraq War veteran Joe Biggs without notice or explanation. His apparent crime was that he’s a vocal Trump supporter.
“After about hour and a half on the phone, I wasn’t able to talk to anybody and get a clear reason as to why they closed my account,” Biggs told One America News correspondent Jack Posobiec.
Amid heavy backlash on social media and a barrage of phone calls from outraged veterans, Chase later offered to restore Biggs’ account. But by then, he decided to take his business elsewhere.
Chase also suspended the bank account of Jewish conservative activist Laura Loomer. Loomer has also been banned from PayPal, Facebook, Twitter, and from the ride-sharing services Lyft and Uber.
Facebook banned Milo in mass-purge of conservatives
As CCN.com reported in April 2019, Milo Yiannopoulos was banned from Facebook during the social media monopoly’s mass-purge of conservatives. Others who were banned include:
- InfoWars founder Alex Jones.
- Former InfoWars editor Paul Joseph Watson.
- Jewish activist Laura Loomer.
- Conservative commentator Faith Goldy.
So who’s next? And why is the cryptocurrency community now hopping on this tech censorship of conservatives? Isn’t that antithetical to what crypto is supposed to be all about?
And if Milo is too dangerous to be allowed to buy bitcoin, then why is the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas allowed to solicit bitcoin donations on Facebook and Twitter, where they foment violence and recruit other terrorists?
They received several thousand dollars, presumably through a crypto platform.
Republicans are more pro-bitcoin than Democrats
The comical irony of the “Left-Wing Crypto Bro” (see example below) is that Republicans are far more pro-bitcoin than liberal Democrats, who want to regulate crypto into the ground.
While influential bitcoin bros constantly pump bitcoin to boost its trading price, it would be nice if they also promoted an open, non-discriminatory crypto community.
As a reminder, when Apple blackballed Anthony Pompliano’s crypto podcast from its podcast store, CCN.com spoke out.
The podcast was later restored amid outcry from the crypto community about tech censorship. If it happened to him, it could happen to you.
Democrat lawmaker wants to ban all crypto
On May 6, Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman called for a ban on all cryptocurrencies in the United States.
Oops. What goes around, comes around.
