Graham Smith
Bitcoin pioneer and author of “Hijacking Bitcoin,” Roger Ver, has been held in legal limbo for nearly eight months awaiting an extradition decision in Spain, as the U.S. government accuses him of tax fraud. Powerful voices in the crypto community have been adding their weight to an open letter seeking to set Ver free, and end the “lawfare” and unjust targeting of economic innovators.
Early Bitcoin adopter and angel investor Roger Ver, known to many as “Bitcoin Jesus,” has been waiting in a state-imposed purgatory since his Barcelona arrest by the U.S. DOJ in April.
Ver, who prefers to simply be called “Roger,” and likes to be compared to a Bitcoin Johnny Appleseed more than Jesus, maintains he is being unjustly targeted by the U.S. government for his political views, and said he tried his best to comply with IRS demands after renouncing his U.S. citizenship in 2014.
The U.S. Department of Justice says Ver owes $48 million in taxes due to “false tax returns” which “substantially undervalued [Ver’s] two companies and their 73,000 bitcoins and did not report that Ver owned any bitcoins personally.” The IRS further maintains Ver owes taxes from sales of BTC made even after he was no longer a citizen of the country.
Thousands of important people in crypto, however — and everyday advocates of peace and economic freedom — disagree wholeheartedly.
‘Free Roger Now’ open letter gains steam with 2,744 signatures
Recently adding their voices to the Free Roger Now, or simply “FREEROGER” open letter are Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson and famous biologist and author Bret Weinstein. “He was a tireless advocate in the early days of Bitcoin,” Hoskinson noted in a Nov. 20 video post on X, continuing: “and a true libertarian at heart.”
Hoskinson lamented that “the U.S. government decided 10 years after [Ver rescinded his citizenship] to basically go after him for more taxes than the already enormous amount of taxes that he’s already paid.”
Some in crypto are also questioning the timing of Ver’s arrest, which occurred just after the release of his book Hijacking Bitcoin: The Hidden History of BTC, which calls out the organized co-opt and sabotage of BTC as peer-to-peer electronic cash, rendering it largely unusable, and a speculative asset with slow throughput and astronomical fees, contrary to explicitly stated plans of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
The book champions Bitcoin Cash as the current, if not nearly as well-known, actual bitcoin.
Biologist and well-known Joe Rogan guest Bret Weinstein tweeted on X: “Roger Ver (known as ‘Bitcoin Jesus’) faces extradition to the U.S. and a sentence of up to 109 years if he is convicted. His crime? He didn’t commit one, but that doesn’t matter in the age of American Lawfare.”
Ver’s persecution echoes that of another Bitcoin early adopter and pioneer, Ross Ulbricht, who has been serving a double-life-sentence-plus-40-years since 2015, after his arrest in 2013, for selling cannabis and other substances on the internet to consenting adults.
The FREEROGER open letter is at 2,744 signatures at the time of writing, with the site noting: “We, the undersigned, call on the U.S. government to end the unjust prosecution of Roger Ver, a pioneer in cryptocurrency and advocate for economic freedom.”
Appeals to political figures gain currency
As the Trump/BTC/Blackrock hype train speeds on, and crypto enthusiasts and OGs from way back fight for the original vision of peer-to-peer economic freedom, luminaries nonetheless are making mass appeals to political figures (the most immoral people on the planet) to uncage our very best and most needed people: peace-loving crypto users, advocates, and innovators.
This author holds no hope in politics, but a great esteem for Ver, Ulbricht, and the voluntaryist principles of peace and freedom from the global war and extortion machine, and has also signed the letter, hoping against hope. For those wishing to support Ver and Ulbricht, they can do so here and here, respectively.
In the words of Roger Ver: “And when I realized that Bitcoin has the potential to … undermine every government on the entire planet’s ability to wage war, I knew I had to get involved and start promoting Bitcoin full time.” Of course, this true potential is peer-to-peer, direct action.
From Zero to Web3 Pro: Your 90-Day Career Launch Plan
