Hi, this is Charles Hoskinson broadcasting live from warm, sunny Colorado. Today is November 19th, and I'm making a quick video to talk about something deeply important to our industry and a good friend of mine.
As many of you know, I've been in the Bitcoin space for a very long time. I was part of that Slashdot Revolution that brought a lot of us in late 2010 and early 2011. In the beginning days, nobody took anything too seriously, but there were a few people running around who did, and Roger was definitely one of them. During his tenure, he started one of the first businesses that accepted Bitcoin for payment, which was established before Bitcoin actually launched. He was a tireless advocate in the early days of Bitcoin, telling everyone they needed to accept it and that Bitcoin was the future. A true libertarian at heart, Roger has always been someone who wears his heart on his sleeve and possesses tremendous integrity and character.
It got to a point where he realized his beliefs were incompatible with the U.S. government. As a U.S. citizen, he made the decision to rescind his citizenship and live abroad, as many Americans do on a pretty regular basis. Usually, that's the end of the story; after you're no longer a U.S. citizen and living abroad, you run your businesses abroad, and traditionally, you don't do much with the United States. Then something very strange happened: the U.S. government decided, ten years after he did this, to go after him for more taxes than the already enormous amount he has paid. They arrested him, seeking extradition, and Roger is now looking at up to 109 years in prison, ten years after he rescinded his citizenship, for a tax case. It's unprecedented and an example of the bullying and persecution we've come to know in the cryptocurrency space as a consequence of the current administration, which is soon being replaced by a pro-crypto administration.
From my part, I'm going to do everything in my power to see if we can find a way to blunt this or get a pardon. What you can do is sign a petition and read more about Roger's case and story at freerogernow.org. Roger is one of the reasons why we’re all here because I don't believe that Bitcoin would have been as successful as it is today, or even perhaps survived, if it were not for his vigilant efforts. He took a huge chance on Bitcoin and our ecosystem when it was small, fledgling, and no one cared about it. The foundational conversations he had and the evangelism he practiced are reasons why Bitcoin grew the way it did, and we all stand on those foundations.
He has lived a very unique and colorful life, experiencing many ups and downs, but he is a man of great integrity and a good human being. Overall, we as an ecosystem should never forget our own and never leave them behind. If you're part of the Bitcoin ecosystem or you're curious about this case, I encourage you to go to the link and sign the petition. Hopefully, the new administration will do things a little differently. I don't have a lot of patience for the bullying and harassment that our industry has faced. We've seen the bullying and harassment of major cryptocurrency companies, from Kraken to Coinbase and others. We've seen a government all too comfortable using every tool in its portfolio, whether it be intimidation, economic deplatforming, or even turning things into criminal cases to stifle our industry.
I believe this is one of the reasons why the current administration lost at the polls. The American people are tired and fed up with the weaponization of the U.S. government to persecute people that the current regime disagrees with, and I believe this case is definitely political. If you look at the facts and circumstances surrounding it, hopefully, the new administration will view things differently. We'll all do our part behind the scenes and in the public eye to affect good outcomes. As long as there are people who remember, we will keep the flame alive.
It looks like Roger is getting a pardon on January 20th. We need to keep those candles lit bright; that’s what gives people hope, and I think we can get through this. Roger's a friend; I've known him for well over a decade. We used to run into each other from time to time on the conference circuit. He’s just a good man and deserves better than what has happened here. This is wrong on so many levels—to try to put Roger in prison longer than Al Capone was sentenced, or longer than most murderers and rapists are sentenced, for not paying taxes, which he did pay, and going after him ten years after he rescinded his U.S. citizenship, claiming he still owes taxes. It’s unprecedented; it’s never really happened before in U.S. history, and it sets a very bad judicial precedent if this case continues to go through. It’s a miscarriage of justice, and it has to stop.
Thank you all for listening. I hope this encourages some of you to read about Roger’s story and learn a little bit about the early history of Bitcoin. As I said before, we take care of our own, and we always will. We’ll never forget the people that got us to where we are today, and Roger is one of them. Thank you all.
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