In much of the western world, governments have developed the ability to prevent individuals or organizations from accessing financial services, with little or no court oversight or ability of those being marginalized to challenge the rulings. Under the guise of “terrorism” and "protecting reputations", individuals and organizations, from porn stars, to advocates for those illegally detained in Guantanamo Bay have found themselves unable to hold bank accounts, unable to accept payments online, or even had their funds seized without warning by both private and government actions. In the developing world, the situation can be just as, if not more, extreme. In the mean time, Bitcoin has been slowly shedding its anarchistic and anti-establishment origins and finding places where it can provide legitimate value within the current financial world. In this talk, we'll cover both how Bitcoin is in a unique position to provide activists and marginalized groups access to financial systems to ensure they can continue their work, while still meeting requirements placed on the financial system for reasonable law enforcement purposes. We'll touch on a few cryptographic primitives which, when combined with Bitcoin, can create incredibly practical and powerful tools to comply with regulation without giving up privacy, and of course cover a few common misconceptions about Bitcoin.
