Edward Snowden, the former NSA employee turned whistleblower, sent a clear message to Bitcoin enthusiasts on Friday, urging them to approach crypto-friendly politicians with a healthy dose of skepticism. Speaking virtually to thousands at the annual Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Snowden’s advice was simple: “Cast your vote but don’t join a cult.”
Although he aimed to keep his talk apolitical, the subject naturally bled into his opening and closing remarks. Snowden expressed a measured view on the potential for political change through elections, likening it to a mere reshuffling of authority figures. “As far as the average worker is concerned, whether we’re talking about this election or any other in the last 20 years, a given election tends to result in what feels like a different uniform on the same cop,” he said. “And that’s a problem.”
The conference’s backdrop was heavily political, featuring prominent figures like former President Donald Trump as the main speaker on Saturday. On Friday, attendees heard from Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, while Snowden’s talk was flanked by sessions with Sen. Cynthia Lummis, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Snowden stressed the importance of collective action to prevent the erosion of freedoms. “We have to work together, and we have to make sure they do not reduce this country to the land of the fee and the home of the slave,” he said, urging unity in the fight for privacy and freedom.
A long-time privacy advocate, Snowden has consistently warned against the regulation of crypto-based privacy tools like Tornado Cash and has been a vocal critic of central bank digital currencies, seeing them as potential tools for government surveillance. A key point in his speech highlighted the increasing use of AI by governments to mine personal metadata, turning what was once an analyst’s job into an automated, instantaneously processed task.
Snowden believes that regardless of who wins the upcoming elections, the trend of leveraging AI for surveillance is unlikely to change. He argued it’s naïve to think AI isn’t already being used to profile personal spending habits. “We’re running out of time to fix this, and the consequences of ignoring it are a whole lot worse,” he said, warning that Bitcoin’s public ledger is a rich training ground for AI models focused on financial transactions.
He dismissed dystopian fantasies of AI-driven robot enforcers as distant possibilities but cautioned that the current reality of AI-driven surveillance is urgent enough. “This is not Terminator, right? This is not Skynet. This is not robots in the sky to drag you out of your home. That might come someday, but that’s a long way off.”
Snowden’s remarks echoed his longstanding concerns about privacy in the digital age. He urged the Bitcoin community to remain vigilant and proactive in safeguarding their privacy. His warnings about AI and surveillance underscored the need for a balanced approach to technology and governance, emphasizing that the future of personal freedom depends on our actions today.
As the conference continued, it was clear that Snowden’s message resonated with many attendees, reminding them that the promise of cryptocurrency goes beyond financial freedom—it’s also a battle for personal privacy and against unchecked government surveillance. His call to action was not just about choosing the right leaders but also about staying aware and united in the fight for a free and open society.
