Original Title: Why the Intel Agencies Want to Track Your Every Transaction and Throw Roger Ver in Jail for Life
Original Compilation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats
Editor's Note: In an interview, Roger Ver shared his experience of political persecution by the U.S. government due to his involvement in cryptocurrency activities. He also mentioned the truth about the censorship of early Bitcoin community discussion platforms and the suppression of voices advocating for Bitcoin as a payment method. This entire process has distorted the essence of Bitcoin, potentially turning it into a new tool for financial control. Roger revealed the dark history of how the government and intelligence agencies have obstructed and altered the development of Bitcoin over the past decade.
Bitcoin originally carried the ideals of decentralization and free payments, aiming to provide a financial tool independent of government control for users worldwide. However, as Bitcoin gained popularity, government and intelligence agency interventions gradually changed its original intent. The guest mentioned in the interview that early Bitcoin community discussion platforms were censored, and voices advocating for Bitcoin as a payment tool were suppressed, replaced by propaganda that shaped Bitcoin into a digital asset. This process distorted the essence of Bitcoin, making it a potential new tool for financial control.
The following is the original content (reorganized for readability):
"Because I spoke the truth about Bitcoin, the U.S. government wants to politically execute me"
Host: Roger, let me summarize your situation. This is what I read: You are being requested by the U.S. Department of Justice to be extradited from your home in Spain—a Western European ally—to the U.S., facing potential life imprisonment for tax evasion, with a total sentence of 109 years. However, you are not a U.S. citizen, and during the time you were accused of evading U.S. taxes, you were also not a U.S. citizen. So every time I see news about the U.S. government trying to extradite someone for tax evasion and sentencing them to 109 years, I wonder if this is not just about tax issues. Is there another reason why the U.S. government is angry with you and wants you to spend the rest of your life in prison?
Roger: To be honest, I think this has nothing to do with taxes. They are just angry that I am not compliant and not "obedient."
I was the first person in the world to start investing in the Bitcoin ecosystem and invested in companies that enabled people to use Bitcoin as currency and cash. Since 2011, I have been promoting Bitcoin, telling everyone: stop using dollars, euros, and yen, switch to Bitcoin.
Now we have an alternative where anyone can have complete control over their funds without needing permission from any politician or government. For governments that control people through controlling the money supply, this freedom poses a threat to their power. So obviously, they don't like that at all.
I know this kind of thing is dangerous, so I thought the safest thing to do was not to become a U.S. citizen. Therefore, in 2014, I renounced my U.S. citizenship and became a "world citizen." However, my new citizenship is Saint Kitts, a beautiful island in the Caribbean. I thought this would be safer, and I could promote Bitcoin from there. I have always tried to comply with the law, even though I may disagree with many laws, because I know that when you are pushing for something that changes the world, the government often does not like it and may target you.
So, I told my tax lawyer and everyone involved that everything must be done perfectly, and there should be no reason for the U.S. government to find fault. But more than a decade after I renounced my U.S. citizenship, just after I published a book about how Bitcoin was hijacked—revealing how Bitcoin is no longer used as global peer-to-peer cash but has been turned into a digital asset that people only use for speculation rather than a global currency that can compete with the dollar, euro, and yen—after the book was published, the world exploded. I was arrested and held in a Spanish prison, potentially facing over 100 years in prison.
Related Reading: “The ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ of the Past is Now Awaiting Trial” - BlockBeats
I am 45 years old today, and the chances of living to 109 with current technology are not very high, so this is equivalent to dying in prison. They are uneasy because of what I say and how I promote cryptocurrency. I am the founder of bitcoin.com, co-founder of XRP and blockchain.com, and many other companies. I have laid the foundation for almost the entire first generation of cryptocurrency companies. So, they are extremely unhappy with my attempt to promote a world currency that can compete with the dollar.
Host: I would like to add a personal comment. I am a U.S. citizen, and I do not oppose the dollar itself; the problem is that the dollar is poorly managed. I believe it is the negligence of those who control it—the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve—that has made the dollar seem unreliable in the long run. Their negligence has forced people to consider other options, and Bitcoin is one of the most promising alternatives.
I remember very clearly, because I am now 55 years old, when Bitcoin first appeared, its idea was to provide people with a way to independently control their funds, to trade and purchase goods and services without being controlled. But now it has turned into an asset class, and I am very curious about how all this happened. If possible, please explain in detail the point you mentioned in your book about the covert operations of intelligence agencies playing a significant role in this.
How Was Bitcoin "Hijacked" by Intelligence Agencies?
Roger: If we are going to talk about this, we need to go back 25 years. At that time, I was a young person running for public office in California as a libertarian, advocating for lower taxes and less government intervention, which was in the year 2000.
If anyone remembers, there was an incident in Waco, Texas, in the late 1990s. There was a religious group that included some adults and many children, some as young as three, four, or five years old. Even if their parents were religious fanatics, the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) and the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) actually burned them alive, turning their home to ashes. Afterward, they even took pictures with the children's corpses, which is completely unacceptable. The FBI and ATF were a bunch of murderers in this incident. Even if the children's parents broke the law, you cannot kill the children for that reason, but that is exactly what they did.
In debates with Republican and Democratic candidates, I called the ATF murderers because they did such things. They were very unhappy about that. I was only 20 or 21 years old, had seven or eight employees, and my business was just starting to grow. Yet I became the only person in the world prosecuted for selling fireworks on eBay, even though many other sellers were selling them, including Cabela's sporting goods catalog. These fireworks were sold everywhere, and I was the only one prosecuted for selling them without a license. This was not because I sold fireworks without a license, but because they were angry about what I said.
During a discussion between my lawyer, the prosecutor, and an ATF agent, the ATF agent even slammed the table and said, "Did you not hear what he said?" They were referring to my calling them murderers. In fact, if you burn a group of children alive, then you are a murderer, and they indeed did that.
Eventually, I signed a plea agreement and served 10 months in federal prison. If I had insisted on going to trial and lost (which I likely would have lost because, according to the law, I did sell fireworks without a license), I could have been sentenced to 7 to 8 years in prison. So at that moment, I no longer felt safe in the U.S.; I had already experienced political persecution. Therefore, the day I was allowed to leave the U.S., I left immediately.
Becoming a libertarian was not innate; I started by accidentally coming across a book by Ludwig von Mises, then read works by Milton Friedman and David Friedman, until I discovered the writings of Murray Rothbard. Rothbard's works completely changed my worldview, resonating with me like beautiful music. Recently, I heard Javier Milei from Argentina mention Rothbard as one of the economists who influenced him the most, and I deeply resonate with that. I strongly recommend everyone read any of Rothbard's works; it will overturn your understanding of the world.
Through these economics books, I learned about the origins of money and how something is used as money. It must have certain characteristics, such as durability, divisibility, portability, recognizability, and difficulty to counterfeit, all of which are necessary conditions to become money. At the time I read these books, it made a lot of sense, but I truly validated these theories after I went to prison.
In prison, everyone uses certain items as currency to buy and sell each other's goods. These "currencies" are usually tobacco, stamps, and ramen noodles. Think about it carefully; these items possess the characteristics of money—they are portable, durable, easily recognizable, and have practical uses: stamps can send letters, ramen noodles can be eaten, and tobacco can be smoked. None of this was dictated by the guards or any prisoners; it was a naturally formed economic system.
More than a decade later, Bitcoin appeared. At that time, I had both theoretical knowledge and practical experience from prison. So, without a doubt, I believed people would start using Bitcoin as money. I thought, isn't this the dream come true for every libertarian?
Suddenly, we had the right to choose. I do not oppose the dollar, yen, or euro; what I support is "choice." I believe people should be able to choose the form of currency they want to use, whether it is dollars, euros, yen, Bitcoin, or other cryptocurrencies. I hope to see this right to choose realized.
After Bitcoin appeared, the first thing I did was buy a bunch of Bitcoin. At that time, the price of Bitcoin was less than $1. The company I operated, MemoryDealers.com, also became the first established business in the world to accept Bitcoin payments. We started promoting "accepting Bitcoin payments," and although initially no customers paid with Bitcoin, it attracted global media attention. I remember in June 2011, the price of Bitcoin skyrocketed from about $3 to $30 in just two or three weeks, marking the first time Bitcoin received such widespread media attention.
Then something interesting happened. At that time, the main forum for discussing Bitcoin was BitcoinTalk.org. As Bitcoin gained international media coverage, this originally well-functioning forum suddenly became flooded with spam posts, filled with meaningless comments, making it impossible for new users to understand Bitcoin through the forum. Someone was deliberately trying to prevent the spread of Bitcoin during this critical period. As early as 2011, we already knew that the CIA was interested in Bitcoin, as they had inquired about Bitcoin-related information from its developers. The CIA had begun researching it before most people had even heard of Bitcoin.
At that time, everyone knew that Bitcoin was designed to become a global currency, a peer-to-peer global payment tool. People used Bitcoin for payments; I personally used it to pay salaries and settle accounts with overseas suppliers. I even hosted the first Bitcoin meetup in China and ran advertisements on national radio to promote Bitcoin, doing my utmost to spread Bitcoin around the world.
But by around 2012, a person claiming to be "John Dylan" asserted that he was a member of an intelligence agency and spent over $10,000 (a considerable amount) to create propaganda, trying to mislead people into believing that keeping Bitcoin blocks small would make it more decentralized. This was completely contrary to the facts and went against the original design intentions of Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. At that time, the design concept and usage of Bitcoin were not like that. Initially, no one believed this propaganda.
Later, the Bitcoin community experienced a massive wave of censorship. Some anonymous individuals took control of all major Bitcoin discussion platforms, and overnight, any advocacy for using Bitcoin as a currency was banned. They censored all attempts to promote Bitcoin for payments. At first, people could see through these operations, but as new users joined, they were indoctrinated with these censored ideas.
Now, the main advocates of Bitcoin openly declare: "Bitcoin should not compete with the dollar; Bitcoin should not be used as currency, nor should it be used for payments." They positioned Bitcoin as a digital asset, merely for holding, which completely deviated from Bitcoin's original intent. Through censorship and propaganda, they completely hijacked Bitcoin. I even wrote a book about this called "Hijacking Bitcoin," which can be found at HijackingBitcoin.com or on Amazon.
A few weeks after the book was published, I was arrested and now face 109 years of federal imprisonment, simply for exposing the truth about Bitcoin being hijacked. You can be optimistic about the "new Bitcoin" being promoted now, but you cannot deny that it has been hijacked. Fortunately, we now have thousands of different cryptocurrencies. I support competition and have never been an extremist for Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency. I am a utilitarian maximizer, pursuing the greatest utility for the most people globally, promoting economic freedom and technological advancements that drive economic growth—that is what I want to promote.
Is Bitcoin Becoming the Government's New "Financial Prison"?
Host: I have many questions to ask, but let's start with the core promise of Bitcoin. We all clearly remember that Bitcoin's initial promise was to allow people to trade goods and services anonymously, free from federal control. It is a digital currency that empowers users with freedom when making purchases. So, how exactly are they controlling this discussion? You mentioned they censored the discussion boards; can you explain what that entails?
Roger: Of course, censorship began with controlling the discussion platforms. At that time, there were two main discussion platforms where everyone was discussing Bitcoin: one was BitcoinTalk.org, and the other was Reddit. Discussions on these two platforms were very active, and some anonymous individual successfully became the administrator or owner of both platforms. Then one day, he began to implement censorship policies, banning anyone who expressed views that did not align with the "Bitcoin small block" propaganda.
When censorship first started, people posted complaints on Reddit. At that time, the post complaining about censorship became the most upvoted post in r/Bitcoin history. As a result, they not only deleted the post but also banned those who participated in the discussion. This censorship continues to this day. If you post anything supporting "Bitcoin scaling for global payments" on r/Bitcoin or BitcoinTalk.org now, they will directly ban your account.
Now, many people involved in Bitcoin only focus on the price, such as "Bitcoin is now close to $100,000 each," or listening to what Michael Saylor says about "paying taxes, not provoking, and not competing with the dollar, or else it will anger Visa, Mastercard, and the government." These statements completely deviate from Bitcoin's original spirit. At that time, everyone was talking about "Bitcoin finally allowing people to choose the currency they want to use."
Imagine if people used Bitcoin to pay salaries, shop, and cover all expenses—how could the U.S. government allocate billions of dollars to Ukraine? How could they funnel huge amounts of money into wars that most people do not support? They would not be able to create money out of thin air to achieve these goals as they do now.
What do people learn in school? "The government serves the people." But if people use hard assets like cryptocurrencies in their daily lives, the government must be more accountable to the people than it is now, and that is precisely why the government does not want this to happen.
So the government has been trying to prevent the development of Bitcoin, stopping people from using cryptocurrencies as currency in their daily lives, whether through tax policies, tax reporting, exit taxes, or any other means, they are making it as difficult as possible. In fact, while recording this program, I proposed paying the attendees with cryptocurrency, but they were unwilling to accept it due to concerns about tax implications. The government fears losing control over the money supply, and if they lose that control, much of their control over society will also be lost.
If you believe in individual rights and freedoms, and that everyone should control their own destiny, then it would be a wonderful thing when the government loses the ability to control people's lives.
That is why I am so excited about Bitcoin. I have been involved in promoting cryptocurrency as the currency for people worldwide for nearly 15 years, whether you are waiting for extradition in Spain, in the U.S., or anywhere else in the world. Cryptocurrencies belong to everyone, and they need to compete with the dollar, euro, yen, ruble, and all other currencies.
Because when people have more choices, their lives will improve, leading to more economic freedom and promoting more economic growth, which will raise everyone's standard of living, ultimately making life better for everyone on Earth. That is why I am so excited to be involved, even though I face the risk of being sentenced to 109 years in federal prison, simply for sharing these exciting ideas and technologies.
Host: So the initial promise of Bitcoin was to give you freedom, but through subversion, it quickly turned into a way to make you rich, a change significant enough to divert from the original promise. I have to mention that you did become wealthy because of Bitcoin. You could have chosen to say nothing and enjoy your Bitcoin wealth, as you bought a lot of Bitcoin early on. It sounds like your ideological commitment has overshadowed your financial interests.
Roger: It doesn't matter to me at all; I was already a millionaire before Bitcoin appeared. I had my own tech company in Silicon Valley, and it was doing very well. Many people were talking about "when they could buy a Lamborghini," saying I would sell my Bitcoin to buy a Lamborghini. I had multiple Lamborghinis before Bitcoin appeared. When Bitcoin came out, I was so convinced of its potential that I sold my Lamborghinis to buy more Bitcoin. That is my passion for it—philosophically, emotionally, and intellectually—because it truly is one of the best tools in the world for individuals to gain more control over their lives. So my direction is completely opposite to that of most people involved in Bitcoin today. I was selling things to buy Bitcoin because I knew it would become a global currency. Today, it may be Bitcoin, or it may be other cryptocurrencies, but cryptocurrencies are definitely the trend of the future, and remember, today is 2024.
When Bitcoin first appeared, there was no Apple Pay, no Zelle; these things barely existed, and there was almost no competition. But the government successfully delayed the adoption of cryptocurrencies, and now the traditional financial system suddenly has the opportunity to catch up and achieve more.
This is really frustrating because life is short. Each year passes faster, and the time left in each of our lives is getting shorter. We need to enjoy the benefits of cryptocurrencies as soon as possible, and we need to bring these benefits to the world quickly. Don't waste time; that is exactly what governments around the world have been doing. They have been delaying and obstructing the adoption of cryptocurrencies as currency, which is essentially delaying the progress of humanity and human society. Seeing this happen is truly frustrating.
Host: From my perspective, the most frustrating part is that obviously, it is currently impossible to conduct any private transactions with cryptocurrencies, which is the core promise. I earned this money, did nothing wrong, and I want to buy something without anyone knowing whether I bought it or not. I want to do this in privacy; I don't think that's strange; it's human nature. So is it now possible to conduct any form of anonymous transactions with cryptocurrencies?
Roger: Initially, everyone thought Bitcoin was fundamentally anonymous, and that is how people used it. Later, some websites began selling things that the government might not want you to buy, and people used Bitcoin for those purchases because they believed Bitcoin was fundamentally anonymous. It was only later that we discovered Bitcoin is not anonymous at all.
Nowadays, most people use custodial wallets, which are not really wallets at all; they are just accounts, and their privacy is no better than your account at a U.S. bank or PayPal. In fact, it is less private than those because anyone can view the blockchain and see its contents. But fortunately, there are other cryptocurrencies that offer more privacy protection. For example, Monero is commonly used by most people who want privacy.
But in reality, there are even more exciting technologies and coins, like a project called Zeno, which allows anyone to create their own privacy tokens without letting the outside world see any transaction details. If you really want to annoy the government or the three major intelligence agencies, there is a project called Confidential Layer, which is creating a bridge connecting Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum with Zeno. This way, you can non-custodially bridge non-private Bitcoin or Ethereum to the Zeno platform, and there is no central management point. Once on Zeno, you will enjoy very strong privacy protection.
I believe this will bring more privacy protection to the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem, but the government will definitely hate this approach. As I mentioned earlier, Monero is currently preemptively banned from being listed on exchanges in most parts of the world, simply because the government cannot easily monitor users of Monero or Zeno like they can with other cryptocurrencies. So I am very supportive of privacy coins like Monero or Zeno.
In fact, I am now embarrassed to promote Bitcoin to others because its transactions are slow, expensive, unreliable, and lack privacy protection. I would rather promote privacy tools like Monero, Zeno, or ZCash because they provide people with more personal control, privacy protection, and economic freedom.
Many people now say Bitcoin is a free currency, but I really worry that they are actually building the walls of a financial prison for themselves. If you look at the situation in El Salvador, everyone is excited that Bitcoin is circulating there, but they are all using custodial accounts where the government can see every transaction and freeze accounts at any time. This is not economic freedom at all; it is government control over the economy. So anyone concerned about these issues should be very worried and should support cryptocurrencies that truly allow individuals to control their funds and destinies.
I believe Bitcoin could potentially bridge to Zeno through a technology called Confidential Layer, becoming more privacy-protective, but who can say for sure right now? We need to be very careful because we may unknowingly be building the walls of a financial prison, and by the time we realize it, it may be too late to escape. So today, we must remain vigilant and stay alert.
Host: There are many admirable people in the cryptocurrency space, and I am friends with some of them. I like and agree with many of the people you mentioned. What confuses me is why I am the only one saying these things? Why aren’t those promoting various cryptocurrencies warning that every transaction we make with these currencies is not private and can easily be tracked by the government? Why is no one saying this?
Roger: Because censorship and propaganda have taken effect. Many people are actually saying this, but there are almost no sufficiently large platforms or voices besides mine that can draw enough attention. Because I have such a large platform and voice, suddenly I am facing 109 years of imprisonment, and I don’t think that is purely coincidental.
If the solution to some viewpoints or statements you disagree with is more debate, discussion, and freedom of speech, then the opposite approach is censorship and propaganda. Many of those promoting Bitcoin now have supported this censorship and propaganda, while I stand firmly on the side of free speech. When the debate over Bitcoin scaling proposals began, I was initially inclined towards the so-called big block proposal, but I wanted to keep an open mind to hear other opinions. So I remained silent and started listening. However, as I listened, one side suddenly began to try to suppress the voices of the other side. I knew which side I stood on; I stood on the side of free speech.
So when that side began to censor the other side, I knew it was time to speak up. I support Bitcoin being able to scale in the way it was originally intended—to become peer-to-peer cash for the whole world, which is completely different from what people today refer to as a speculative asset.
Bitcoin is now close to $100,000, and perhaps it should have been $100,000 five years ago, but it has been hijacked and has strayed from its original purpose as global cash. What we see today is it approaching $100,000, but what we don’t see is what it could have become if major companies like Microsoft and Expedia hadn’t stopped accepting Bitcoin due to its slow transactions, high fees, instability, and lack of privacy. So this is really disappointing.
Thank you for giving me this platform to sound the alarm. I do not want to see the whole world ultimately trapped in some kind of financial prison, even if it sounds cool, like Bitcoin.
Host: Who is Satoshi?
Roger: I don’t know. If someone knows, I’m not clear either. But no matter who he is, where he is, he or they, or even she, invented one of the most important technologies in human history, as significant as electricity, transistors, and the internet. It truly is a world-changing technology. So, no matter who he is, where they are, they should have privacy because clearly that is what they wanted.
Host: So it sounds like you don’t suspect that Bitcoin was created by intelligence agencies as a trap for people?
Roger: I don’t think Bitcoin was initially created by intelligence agencies, but I do have some suspicions. I believe intelligence agencies and other groups have transformed and hijacked it into a financial trap.
"I Treat Every Day as My Last": Roger's Current House Arrest Life
Host: I think you explained it very well; no wonder they want to put you in prison. I shouldn’t laugh; this is actually a very scary thing because they really want to imprison you. So, I want to know, do you think you will really go to prison? Is there any way to stop this?
Roger: There are actually many ways to stop this, but I believe the most effective way is to have the public speak out. The more people stand up, the safer everyone will be. So, one of the most outrageous things is that the IRS stormed into my law firm and my accounting firm; they actually raided my lawyer’s office. And in the U.S., you have the right to communicate with your lawyer and maintain privacy. This information can be found on a website called Free Roger Now, which supporters set up for this purpose.
They recently submitted a document called a "Motion to Dismiss," and you can see for yourself that the U.S. government lied in the indictment. The evidence is in the emails between my lawyer and me; you can check it out yourself. Don’t just take my word for it; please make sure to look at that motion to dismiss.
They lied in the Spanish courts, and the lies are everywhere because they don’t want the world to know the truth about cryptocurrencies—they can be used to empower individuals, allowing people to take control of their lives, surpassing those politicians who have never met you, don’t understand your life, and most of them don’t care about you at all.
So now, people all over the world can use cryptocurrencies; they can use it to escape inflation or other oppressive measures. Cryptocurrencies are a great tool for global freedom, and the government is the opposite of freedom.
They don’t like people having more freedom, which is why they don’t like cryptocurrencies and why they are trying to silence me. I wish I had more concrete evidence, but I don’t think my arrest and imprisonment happened by chance. When my book was just published, I was preparing to start a large media tour to promote that Bitcoin has been hijacked, and then they suddenly arrested me and locked me up in a Barcelona prison for a whole month. They were very angry about my bail, but this is my first media interview in six months since I was released.
This is a big event for the whole world; it’s not just an American issue; it actually affects everyone on the planet. Just like Apple, people around the world are using iPhones; Apple is an American company, but it impacts everyone on Earth. Every year, new Apple products come out, and people globally, whether Americans or others, benefit. Americans benefit too; everyone benefits. The same goes for cryptocurrencies; everyone on Earth, whether working in the U.S., Spain, or elsewhere, will benefit.
By benefiting, I mean people will have more control over their lives, finances, and financial sovereignty. The government hates this, which is why they want to stop it, and why they don’t want you to read the book "Hijacking Bitcoin." You can find powerful evidence in the book to understand how Bitcoin has been hijacked, and those promoting Bitcoin today are actually completely opposed to its original goals.
Host: I am somewhat surprised that the Spanish government would approve the U.S. extradition request. The U.S. government just gave Ukraine $100 billion without an audit, which is the most corrupt country in Europe, $100 billion, and there wasn’t even an audit. We know a lot of that money was stolen, but they don’t care at all. So, since you are not a U.S. citizen and do not live in the U.S., how could the U.S. government be so angry, accusing you of not paying U.S. taxes? This is absurd. Why would the Spanish government participate in this obvious judicial misjudgment? Why would they cooperate?
Roger: I can refuse, not just because they are angry, but mainly because I am not a U.S. citizen and do not live in the U.S. They actually claim that I owe U.S. taxes from Bitcoin transactions, which is completely insane.
When you see political persecution, you often find that they will fabricate something to catch their target. And the most common way they do this is by using the government’s tax laws because they are so complex that they are hard to understand. Even professionals who want to comply with every detail, I have experienced it myself; it is just too complicated. If they really want to catch you, they can find a way. This is what they do time and again.
Regarding the Spanish government, I have a very excellent lawyer here, Jaime. He is very optimistic and believes he can successfully handle this issue, but you can never be sure. Living in this fear is really unsettling.
If I win, and Spain decides not to extradite me, they will send me or my lawyer a letter saying "Congratulations, you are not being extradited." But if I lose and they decide to extradite me, they will not tell me in advance.
That morning, someone could knock on my door, arrest me, and take me directly to prison without any notice. I can’t return the rental car, can’t tell the landlord, can’t do anything. They would take me away directly, and I would have no idea what day it would happen. The feeling of worrying every day about whether it will be my last day without being imprisoned is really hard to bear; it could mean a lifetime without release.
Despite this, I remain cautiously optimistic, believing that Spain can see through this and understand that this is just a political persecution initiated by a group of jealous individuals. If I hadn’t been treated so unfairly during my last political campaign, trying to change the system, I might still be a proud American citizen today.
My heart is still filled with the most American values. If you think about it, people always say, "You gave up your U.S. citizenship; you are unpatriotic," which is completely wrong! This is a core value of the founding of America. Back then, a group of dissatisfied British people gave up their citizenship and decided to say, "I don’t want to join you anymore." So, renouncing citizenship is actually one of the most American acts.
I hope the Spanish government understands that I have been promoting the benefits of cryptocurrencies to the world, while the U.S. government is most worried about the dollar's status as the global reserve currency. Therefore, the U.S. government's aversion to cryptocurrencies is even greater than that of other governments, which is clearly a politically motivated persecution.
I am filled with confidence and hope regarding the Spanish government’s decision not to extradite me. I hope they can make the right judgment and see the truth of the matter. But I also know that I might win the entire case in trial, but who knows? Even if I am completely innocent, things are always full of uncertainties.
Maybe the Department of Justice will choose to drop all charges because they are completely baseless. We have already fought a lawsuit with the Supreme Court regarding my lawyer's and client's right to privacy. When they finally obtain these documents, they may be disappointed because the documents only show that I told my lawyer to do everything perfectly and ensure there are no issues. Therefore, this matter involves a Supreme Court case. What people need to understand is that the IRS actually raided my tax attorney's office, violating attorney-client confidentiality. How can there be a raid on a law firm in the U.S. that violates the attorney-client privilege? This is what American propaganda has always told you happens in Russia and other countries, but this kind of thing is happening in the U.S.
So, President Biden can do the right thing. Recently, he pardoned his own son, and he could also issue a preemptive pardon for me. If Trump is re-elected, he could understand this matter as well because he has been a victim of legal warfare. I believe he can see this point and could issue pardons for me and many others who deserve it. I am not the only one; in fact, many people have been persecuted under the disfavor of the U.S. regime. If you challenge the deep state, they will come after you; I am just another target on that long list they are trying to destroy our lives.
Host: If I weren't in this industry, I wouldn't believe any of this. I would think what you're saying isn't true, but I've seen it too many times. Specifically, can you leave Spain now? Are you imprisoned in Spain?
Roger: I cannot leave this country; I am currently restricted to a small island in Spain called Mallorca, far from the Spanish mainland. I can't even leave this island, can't take a boat out, can't do anything. Every 48 hours, I have to report to the court, show my identification, and prove that I haven't escaped. And any day could be my last day; if they decide to extradite me, they will come without warning, arrest me in Spain, and then possibly send me to a U.S. prison. So, this is a very tense way of life, worrying every day about whether today is the day I get taken away. Spain is a great country, and I really like it here, but it would be even better if I could voluntarily stay here.
Host: You've already spent a month in a Spanish prison; what was that experience like?
Roger: My Spanish has improved quite a bit because I have always been a very fresh and articulate person. Some of the other people in the prison started to suspect that I might be an undercover agent from the U.S. sent to monitor the prison. So some inmates were very wary of me and reluctant to talk to me. Fortunately, no one figured out who I really was, and no one knew my connection to cryptocurrencies. However, some people were indeed very suspicious of me, and I was really relieved to be able to get out in the end.
The U.S. government was very angry that Spain granted me bail; they had hoped I would remain locked up in a Spanish prison until everything was resolved. You have to understand that I hadn't been in Spain for long; this was even my second time in Spain, and I originally thought I would only stay for four days. I was there to attend a cryptocurrency conference about privacy coins, discussing projects like Zeno and Monero. At that time, I was in the hotel lobby, and after the conference, a person I didn't know approached me with a strong Spanish accent and asked if I was Roger Ver. I replied, "Yes," and then he asked three or four more times until I completely confirmed he was asking about me.
At first, I thought he was someone from the cryptocurrency community wanting to chat with me, maybe wanting my book signed or discussing cryptocurrencies. But then he pulled out his identification and told me he had an Interpol arrest warrant, and then he arrested me right there in the hotel lobby and took me directly to a Spanish prison. Wow, I never expected this to happen, but it also strengthened my resolve because cryptocurrencies are a powerful empowering tool for everyone. How could I remain silent about this good news and not spread how important the popularization of cryptocurrencies is for the whole world? So, congratulations, America, you have motivated me even more to bring cryptocurrencies to the world.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
