Alex Gladstein is Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation. He has also served as Vice President of Strategy for the Oslo Freedom Forum since its inception in 2009. In his work, Alex has connected hundreds of dissidents and civil society groups with business leaders, technologists, journalists, philanthropists, policymakers, and artists to promote free and open societies. Alex’s writing and views on human rights and technology have appeared in media outlets across the world including The Atlantic, BBC, CNN, Fast Company, The Guardian, Monocle, The New Republic, The New York Times, NowThis, NPR, Quartz, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, and WIRED. He has spoken at universities ranging from MIT to Stanford, presented at the European Parliament and U.S. Department of State, and participated in Singularity University events around the world, where he serves as faculty and lectures on bitcoin and the future of money.
Alex’s essays published on Bitcoin Magazine:
The End of Super Imperialism
NOV 10, 2021
In 1972, one year after President Richard Nixon defaulted on the dollar and formally took the United States off of the gold standard for good, the financial historian and analyst Michael Hudson published “Super Imperialism,” a radical critique of the dollar-dominated world economy …
The Quest for Digital Cash
OCT 13, 2021
How Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin project married the concepts of digital cash and digital gold and how pioneering cryptographer Adam Back continues the work of making it a better tool for freedom.
The Village and The Strongman: The Unlikely Story of Bitcoin and El Salvador
SEP 16, 2021
Tracing Bitcoin’s journey in El Salvador, from new hope in a small village to a new law by an increasingly authoritarian government.
Finding Financial Freedom in Afghanistan
AUG 26, 2021
A pioneering female CEO has been promoting Bitcoin in Afghanistan since 2013 and sees it needed in her home country now more than ever.
Inside Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution
UPDATED:SEP 21, 2021 ORIGINAL:AUG 11, 2021
As political demonstrations show the world that Cubans are tired of dictatorship, Bitcoin is providing an option to peacefully protest and opt out of a broken system.
Can Bitcoin be Palestine’s Currency of Freedom?
UPDATED:SEP 21, 2021 ORIGINAL:JUL 22, 2021
Bitcoin gives Palestinians a powerful avenue for peaceful protest, and the opportunity to find sovereignty among oppressive economic policies.
Bitcoin and the American Idea
UPDATED:SEP 21, 2021 ORIGINAL:JUL 4, 2021
Has America strayed from its founding ideals? An activist and a refugee think Bitcoin can help it get back on track.
Fighting Monetary Colonialism With Open-Source Code
UPDATED:SEP 21, 2021 ORIGINAL:JUN 23, 2021
France still uses monetary colonialism to exploit 15 African nations. Could Bitcoin be a way out?
Bitcoin is the Only Way Out: The Jack Dorsey Interview
JUN 7, 2021
Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey discussed the global adoption of Bitcoin at length with Human Rights Foundation’s Alex Gladstein.
The Humanitarian and Environmental Case for Bitcoin
MAY 26, 2021
Bitcoin is typically thought of as an investment and a strictly financial innovation. But what if some of its greatest impact over time ends up being in the humanitarian and environmental spaces?
Uncovering the Hidden Costs of the Petrodollar
UPDATED:SEP 21, 2021 ORIGINAL:APR 28, 2021
The world’s reserve currency relies on oil, dictators, inequality and the military-industrial complex. But a Bitcoin standard could change this.
Check Your Financial Privilege
UPDATED:SEP 21, 2021 ORIGINAL:MAY 12, 2021
While those comfortable in the dollar bubble deride Bitcoin, the stories of three emerging market users demonstrate why it is so important.
Bitcoin is a Trojan Horse for Freedom
UPDATED:SEP 21, 2021 ORIGINAL:APR 15, 2021
While bitcoin is powerful Number Go Up technology that appeals to self interest, it’s also creating fortresses against authority in cyberspace.
Op Ed: In China, It’s Blockchain and Tyranny vs Bitcoin and Freedom
UPDATED:SEP 21, 2021 ORIGINAL:NOV 5, 2019
China’s centralized blockchains couldn’t be any farther from Bitcoin’s. Designed for maximum control, they will become tools for improved surveillance and social engineering.
Op Ed: As Cash Fades, Will Bitcoin Keep Protest Alive in The Surveillance Age?
UPDATED:SEP 21, 2021 ORIGINAL:JUN 26, 2019
In the surveillance age, decentralized and private payments are a crucial innovation for a digital future where we retain our civil liberties and personal freedoms.
