An anonymous Bitcoiner has donated over 8 BTC, equivalent to approximately $500,000, in support of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange’s family as they faced mounting debt from his travel and settlement expenses.
Assange, who has recently regained his freedom after a 14-year battle against extradition to the United States, was required to pay $520,000 to the Australian government for the chartered flight expenses to Saipan and Australia.
Assange’s wife, Stella Assange, initiated a crowdfunding campaign after his return to Australia to alleviate the financial burden.
“Julian’s travel to freedom comes at a massive cost: Julian will owe USD 520,000 which he is obligated to pay back to the Australian government for charter Flight VJ199,” she wrote on X.
URGENT: Emergency appeal for donations to cover massive USD 520,000 debt for jet.
Julian’s travel to freedom comes at a massive cost: Julian will owe USD 520,000 which he is obligated to pay back to the Australian government for charter Flight VJ199. He was not permitted to fly… pic.twitter.com/J6sTbXij53
— Stella Assange #FreeAssangeNOW (@Stella_Assange) June 25, 2024
The campaign garnered significant attention when she posted the donation link on June 25.
Within a mere 10 hours, an anonymous Bitcoiner contributed over 8 Bitcoin to the fund, nearly fulfilling the entire goal of $520,000.
In addition to the cryptocurrency donation, the fund received over 300,000 British pounds ($380,000) in fiat currency donations.
The anonymous Bitcoin donation stood out as the largest single contribution to the campaign, surpassing the sum of all other donations received in various currencies combined.
It is worth noting that there have also been other efforts to support Assange within the crypto
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