Hong Kong has seen an increase in tension and protest relate to their relationship with mainland China. These protests, which have continued for 10 weeks, have reached the point where visitors to Hong Kong are greeted by protesters in the arrival hall of the international airport.
The protests in Hong Kong have a modern and technologically-backed feel to them that has not been seen in many other protests in recent years. For example, protesters shine lasers through teargas as a way of confusing police officers on the other side. This modern approach to protesting is also seen in the protester’s refusal to use centralized forms of payment. They worry that by doing this they will leave a trail of data that the Hong Kong government can track and use to identify the individuals involved in the protest.
Cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin are playing a prominent role in Hong Kong’s protest. These currencies give the protesters the ability to protest against a government that has access to the latest in 21st-century technology and the ability to use that technology as a weapon against them.
Software like Monero and Zcash are adding to the power that cryptocurrencies have. They are making it possible for transactions to take place in an anonymous fashion. They provide a way of exchanging currency in a society where those considered to be rebels or the dissidents have a legitimate fear of having their financial transactions monitored and used as an identifier by a central government. According to forbes.com, this has led to a surge in the price of Bitcoin, which currently sells on TideBit at $11,477.34 USD.
Is Bitcoin Anonymous?
Bitcoin on its own is not completely anonymous. It is pseudonymous in that the user has a public address that could, in theory, be used to find an IP address or exchange account. There are certain components of Bitcoin, including addresses, transactions, and private and public keys, that are anonymous because they are written in text strings. These can in no way be directly connected to a person’s identity.
When Bitcoin first came on the market, people saw it as a safe haven for terrorists and criminals because they believed it to be entirely untraceable. However, it has become more apparent that over the years Bitcoin has created a massive ledger that is a gold mine of information for authorities. This is why Monero and Zcash have gained popularity in countries where people want to exchange cryptocurrency anonymously.
