Chelsea Manning Backs Bitcoin's Usage For Info Storage, Doesn't Believe In Economic Aspects

Chelsea Manning believes that Bitcoin (BTC), the leading cryptocurrency in the market, has a sound technology behind it but is not a firm believer in the token's economic perspective or its usage for payments on a global scale.

Manning's support for Bitcoin came way before the 2021 crypto market boom. In an interview with Decrypt published Monday, Manning, who is known for leaking classified information regarding the Afghanistan and Iraq wars to Wikileaks in 2010, stated that she has been following BTC's growth as it appealed to her passion for cryptography.

Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication.

Manning said that initially, she thought of Bitcoin as “a cute, gimmicky little tool that is a proof of concept” as opposed to “a way to get rich quick." The American activist and whistleblower also revealed that she kept reading about Bitcoin in email chains as well.

In the interview, the former military intelligence officer stated that she sees Bitcoin as a tool for storing information in a decentralized manner where everyone will have access to that data. However, she did not expect BTC to become a method of generating wealth via the accumulation of code.

“I have a great interest in the technology [of blockchain], but the economic aspect, I’m a little bit more skeptical,” Manning said. “I just don’t see how something [that] can switch from having some value to not having value very quickly as being a sustainable sort of system.”

Manning stated that Bitcoin is “revolutionary” in terms of protecting the contents of messages, privacy, and verifying sources, adding that she became less interested in the leading cryptocurrency when the economics of Bitcoin began to dominate.

“I moved away from it because I realized that there’s a lot of people who don't understand the technical aspects of this, or the security and privacy implications of this technology, but they view this as a brand that’s cool to be a part of,” she said.

Furthermore, Manning also stated that she currently sees an overlap between the economic aspects of Bitcoin and the privacy-related features.

"People jump on board, they get super excited and they cash in as soon as it starts to tumble, and I think that those kinds of things keep a lot of the more privacy-minded, more security-minded people away," she stated.