Political activist Steven Nekhaila on Bitcoin, liberty

On this week’s episode of the CoinGeek Weekly Livestream, Libertarian Party Chair Steven Nekhaila joined Kurt Wuckert Jr. to talk about his journey into libertarianism, what the ideology is all about, and how Bitcoin can change the world and help preserve liberty.

How Nekhaila became a libertarian

Nekhaila says his journey into libertarianism started early when he read the Creature of Jekyll Island. He had always been curious about central banking, but through reading extensively, he learned how the Federal Reserve funds the entire government, including the war machine and welfare state.

Eventually, he joined the Libertarian Party and has been on the Libertarian National Committee since 2015. He has also been interested in digital currencies since 2014 and was involved in Ultimate Coin and mining in the early days. Back then, everything was different—the industry was still firmly in its Wild West era.

Even back then, Nekhaila was interested in the ideology of Bitcoin in addition to the utility. Most are focused on speculation, but that’s secondary to him.

What is libertarianism?

Wuckert opens this section with a caricature of what those who hold mainstream political views think: aren’t libertarians just Republicans who are gay and/or like to smoke weed? He asks what the purpose of the party is.

The Libertarian Party has existed since 1972, Nekhaila says. It started as a way to push the ideology, which can be summarized as “don’t hit people and don’t take their stuff.”

Libertarians believe the government should exist to defend life, right, and property and that it should leave people alone. In no way, shape, or form should it promote any given ideology, and it shouldn’t tax one individual to fund another. The ideology is growing, and the Party has won some power at the local level already.

Did the Libertarian Party back Donald Trump for President? Not officially, Nekhaila says. However, for all his faults, Trump did promise to free Ross Ulbricht, and he came through. He has also given a lot of liberty to the digital currency industry.

Bitcoin and ideology

The Libertarian Party Chair says he isn’t sure there’s a legit use-case for digital currencies long-term, but he hopes there is. In addition to Bitcoin, he has always been supportive of altcoins, and he hopes at least some of them continue to exist. He agrees the ideology around Bitcoin has changed a lot in the last 10 years, but he believes all of this is still in its adolescence. It has been and will continue to be disruptive.

Roger Ver and political dissidents

Roger Ver was an early Bitcoiner and venture capitalist who gave a lot back. He resisted the takeover of Bitcoin during the block size wars, and he believes Bitcoin must do something other than exist.

Ver wrote Hijacking Bitcoin to explain how Bitcoin was subverted. The book blew up, and shortly thereafter, Ver was arrested. Wuckert wants to know what stance the Libertarian Party takes on Ver.

Nekhaila states it clearly: the Party wants to see political dissidents like Ver go free. He believes Ver flew too close to the sun and promoted ideas that are a threat to U.S. Dollar hegemony. A free market currency is a threat, and anyone who gets in the way of USD global dominance tends to meet a sorry end.

To learn more about how Libertarianism is growing, the rise of orthodoxy in society, and why liberty matters, check out the livestream episode here.

Watch: History of Bitcoin with Kurt Wuckert Jr.