Epicenter brings you in-depth conversations about the technical, economic and social implications of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. Every week, we interview business leaders, engineers academics and entrepreneurs, and bring you a diverse spectrum of opinions and points of view. Epicenter is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst, Meher Roy and Felix Lutsch. Since 2014, our episodes have been downloaded over 8 million times.
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episode 339: Harry Halpin & John Shipton: What Julian Assange Represents to the Crypto Movement
Julian Assange, the creator of WikiLeaks, is currently in a maximum-security prison in London facing extradition to the US for violating the Espionage Act. This charge came, among other things, from exposing US war crimes in Iraq. This has put journalists around the world under fear of being prosecuted for exposing the truth. Opinions on Julian Assange are divided, unsurprisingly. But we can assume that a conviction would set a dangerous precedent for journalism, free press, and freedom of speech.
John Shipton, Julian's father, is seeking support from the crypto community to help fund Julian's legal defense. Harry Halpin, CEO of Nym Technologies and friend of Julian's, teams up with John to discuss how a conviction could jeopardize the values of censorship resistance, permissionless innovation, and privacy.
Topics covered in this episode:
- John and Harry's backgrounds and their connection to Julian Assange
- The extradition case against Julian
- How the outcome of the orders could impact the Ethereum community
- The negative effects of WikiLeaks
- Making changes to journalism and legacy media
- The effects of Social Media
- How this case could open the gates for more prosecutions within the crypto/technology community
- Contributing to Julian's legal fund
Episode links:
- Nym Technologies
- State and Terrorist Conspiracies & Conspiracy as Governance, Julian Assange
- WikiLeaks on Wikipedia
- Courage Foundation
- Harry Halpin Twitter
- Nym Technologies Twitter
Sponsors:
- ShapeShift: ShapeShift is the leading crypto platform offering zero-commission trading - https://shapeshift.com/
This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/339