The Bitcoins Bankrolling Snowden

[Purveyor]

It’s a virtual currency that can be tough to trace. No wonder bitcoin donations to WikiLeaks have spiked since Julian Assange said he’s funding Snowden’s adventure. By Winston Ross.
Jun 25, 2013 4:45 AM EDT

If there’s one thing America learned about evading federal capture on Monday, it’s that pandas have a much harder time doing so than NSA leakers. Rusty the Red Panda’s escape from the National Zoo lasted less than 24 hours. Edward Snowden is still out there.

If only Rusty had a briefcase full of cash, opposable thumbs, or WikiLeaks, whose founder said in a call with reporters that the site is bankrolling Snowden’s flight to avoid prosecution. The move opens up the whistleblowing organization to possible prosecution for aiding and abetting a fugitive, and it could lead to new attempts to choke off WikiLeaks’ ability to collect and distribute cash, à la the 2010 blocking of payments to the site by entities such as Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal.

But there is another way for Snowden to remain a “free” man (much as anyone running from the most powerful spying agency in the world can be free): bitcoins, and other digital currencies that are encrypted, largely hacker-proof if properly stored, and passed from one user to the other, with nothing more than a few clicks of a button. Bitcoins are used as currency only because they’re made up of highly secure digital building blocks that users trust enough to barter with.

Snowden is apparently already using bitcoins, albeit indirectly. Ever since the credit-card companies’ 2010 chokehold, WikiLeaks has been accepting donations via the electronic currency. And maybe it’s a coincidence, but bitcoin donations to WikiLeaks jumped from about $20 per day last week to more than $700 on Monday, the day Snowden was reportedly headed from Moscow to Havana. (There was also a spike on June 13, the same day WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gave a live video address to the University of Sydney, praising Snowden as a "hero.&quot

--CLIP
Bitcoin isn’t the only option to help WikiLeaks or Snowden. There are now several forms of encrypted digital currency out there; WikiLeaks suggests Litecoin as another option. But as the most-well-known form of digital currency, bitcoins could begin to play larger and larger roles in high-profile cases like Snowden’s. No longer does a fugitive need a suitcase full of cash to survive on the lam. Now he just needs a thumb drive full of bitcoins.

MORE...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/25/how-to-help-pay-for-snowden-s-getaway-without-being-caught-bitcoins.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheet