Steve Bannon lauds cryptocurrencies as a populist force

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Never one to take things lightly, the former aide to U.S. President Donald Trump and right wing firebrand Steve Bannon is propelling himself to the fore where cryptocurrencies are concerned. He has been touring Switzerland of late and came out with all guns blazing in favour of cryptocurrency as well as blockchain technology, touting them as liberating and a force for good.

When speaking at an event sponsored by the Swiss newspaper Die Weltwoche, Bannon delved into the potential of blockchain and its uses such as the management of personal data as well as its power to be used in financial transactions. He also described cryptocurrency and blockchain as being at the core of a populist movement in Switzerland. In fact, the Swiss have embraced the cryptocurrency world with considerable zest having established a financial centre in Zug and the number of exchanges dealing with crypto currencies is on the rise.

Bannon, who was one of the chief advisors to Trump in his election to the White House, spoke glowingly about the importance of decentralizing the currency sphere during his presentation.

“Central banks are in the business of debasing your currency. Central governments are in the business of debasing your citizenship. The central technology conglomerates are in the business of debasing your own personal sovereignty and your own personal data,” he said.

Bannon, who is a former member of the National Security Council, was dismissed from the White House in August 2017 following a much publicised spat on policy with the U.S. president and his closest advisors. During his brief and often turbulent tenure often criticized “financial elites,” including those in Wall Street and Silicon Valley.

Now the former media mogul is hailing cryptocurrency as a perfect tool to escape the control of such elites.

“We take control of the central banks away. That will give us the power again…Once you take control of your currency, once you take control of your data, once you take control of your citizenship, that’s when you’re going to have true freedom,” Bannon said.

However, Bannon pointed out that the best way to “break” what he described as the globalized culture of economic oppression is with populist, nationalist movements like the one he popularized in the United States. Still, Bannon’s political rallying cries about cryptocurrency inspired considerable applause from the European audience who seemed very enthusiastic about these ideas.