1<!doctype html> 2<html lang="en"> 3<head> 4 <meta charset="UTF-8" /> 5 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> 6 <title>Alex Gladstein â Bitcoin, Human Rights, and Freedom Tech</title> 7 <meta name="description" content="Alex Gladstein â Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation. Essays, talks, interviews, and books on freedom, Bitcoin, and open systems." /> 8 <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com"> 9 <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin> 10 <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@400;500;600;700;800&family=Instrument+Serif:ital@0;1&family=JetBrains+Mono:wght@400;600&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"> 11 <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css?v=20260702a" /> 12</head> 13<body> 14 <div class="noise"></div> 15 16 <header class="site-header" id="siteHeader"> 17 <div class="shell nav-pill"> 18 <a class="brand" href="index.html">Alex Gladstein</a> 19 <nav aria-label="Primary"> 20 <a href="index.html#start-here">Start Here</a> 21 <a href="essays.html">Writing</a> 22 <a href="podcasts.html">Watch & Listen</a> 23 <a href="books.html">Books</a> 24 <a href="contact.html#speaking">Speaking</a> 25 <a href="press.html">Press</a> 26 </nav> 27 <a class="start-here" href="contact.html#contact">Contact</a> 28 </div> 29 </header> 30 31 <main> 32 <section class="hero shell editorial-hero"> 33 <div class="hero-copy"> 34 <p class="mono">Human rights · Bitcoin · Open systems</p> 35 <h1>Bitcoin, <span>human rights</span>, and freedom tech.</h1> 36 <p class="lede">Research, writing, and talks on how open monetary and communication networks help people resist censorship and financial repression.</p> 37 <p class="proof-line">4 books · 150+ talks and interviews · Work featured in NYT, WSJ, TIME, CNN, The Atlantic, WIRED, and Journal of Democracy</p> 38 <div class="hero-cta"> 39 <a class="btn btn-primary" href="#start-here">Start here</a> 40 <a class="btn btn-text" href="contact.html#speaking">Speaking â</a> 41 </div> 42 </div> 43 <figure class="hero-portrait"> 44 <img src="images/email/headshot-2026-03-02.jpg" alt="Portrait of Alex Gladstein" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" onerror="this.onerror=null;this.src='images/email/img-2076.jpg';" /> 45 <figcaption>Chief Strategy Officer, Human Rights Foundation</figcaption> 46 </figure> 47 </section> 48 49 <section class="shell block start-here-block" id="start-here"> 50 <div class="section-head"> 51 <p class="mono">Start Here</p> 52 <h2>Five pieces to understand the thesis</h2> 53 </div> 54 <div class="start-list start-card-grid"> 55 <article class="start-card"> 56 <a href="https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/why-bitcoin-is-freedom-money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 57 <img class="start-image" src="images/archive/essays/essays-featured-why-bitcoin-freedom-money.jpg" alt="Why Bitcoin Is Freedom Money artwork" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> 58 <span class="start-copy"><span class="start-index">01</span><span class="start-title">
58Why Bitcoin Is Freedom Money</span><span class="start-meta">Journal of Democracy · 2025</span></span> 59 </a> 60 </article> 61 <article class="start-card"> 62 <a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/bitcoin-is-a-trojan-horse-for-freedom" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 63 <img class="start-image" src="images/trojan-horse/4.jpg" alt="Bitcoin is a Trojan Horse for Freedom artwork" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> 64 <span class="start-copy"><span class="start-index">02</span><span class="start-title">Bitcoin is a Trojan Horse for Freedom</span><span class="start-meta">Bitcoin Magazine · 2021</span></span> 65 </a> 66 </article> 67 <article class="start-card"> 68 <a href="https://reason.com/video/2021/02/05/bitcoin-is-protecting-human-rights-around-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 69 <img class="start-image" src="images/archive/interviews/interviews-reason-video-2021.jpg" alt="Reason video artwork" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> 70 <span class="start-copy"><span class="start-index">03</span><span class="start-title">Bitcoin Is Protecting Human Rights Around the World</span><span class="start-meta">Reason · 2021</span></span> 71 </a> 72 </article> 73 <article class="start-card"> 74 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24waV3Fwvow" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 75 <img class="start-image" src="images/archive/talks/talks-featured-bitcoin-conference-nashville-2024.jpg" alt="Bitcoin Conference Nashville talk thumbnail" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> 76 <span class="start-copy"><span class="start-index">04</span><span class="start-title">Bitcoin: Global Utility</span><span class="start-meta">Talk · 2024</span></span> 77 </a> 78 </article> 79 <article class="start-card"> 80 <a href="https://ns.com/podcast/32-alex-gladstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 81 <img class="start-image" src="images/archive/podcasts/podcasts-network-state-balaji-alex-2025.jpg" alt="Network State podcast artwork" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> 82 <span class="start-copy"><span class="start-index">05</span><span class="start-title">Bitcoin Protects Human Rights</span><span class="start-meta">Network State · 2025</span></span> 83 </a> 84 </article> 85 </div> 86 </section> 87 88 <section class="shell block reflections-feature" aria-labelledby="reflections-feature-title"> 89 <div class="reflections-feature-mark" aria-hidden="true">AI</div> 90 <div class="reflections-feature-copy"> 91 <p class="mono">Continuing series</p> 92 <h2 id="reflections-feature-title">Reflections on AI</h2> 93 <p>Original reflections on artificial intelligence, freedom, and open systems.</p> 94 <a class="btn btn-primary" href="reflections-on-ai.html">Read the series</a> 95 </div> 96 </section> 97 98 <section class="shell block"> 99 <div class="section-head"> 100 <p class="mono">Featured Work</p> 101 <h2>Essential writing, books, and talks</h2> 102 </div> 103 <div class="feature-grid"> 104 <article> 105 <a class="feature-image-wrap" href="https://partners.wsj.com/the-nakamoto-project/bitcoin-reframed/bitcoins-overlooked-promise-freedom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 106 <img class="feature-image" src="images/archive/essays/essays-wsj-bitcoins-overlooked-promise-freedom-2026.jpg" alt="Bitcoinâs Overlooked Promise: Freedom artwork" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> 107 </a> 108 <p class="meta">Essay · The Nakamoto Project à WSJ · 2026</p> 109 <h3><a class="feature-link" href="https://partners.wsj.com/the-nakamoto-project/bitcoin-reframed/bitcoins-overlooked-promise-freedom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bitcoinâs Overlooked Promise: Freedom</a></h3> 110 </article> 111 <article> 112 <a class="feature-image-wrap" href="https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclusive/how-ai-agents-are-empowering-human-rights-defenders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 113 <img class="feature-image" src="images/archive/essays/essays-jod-ai-agents-human-rights-2026.jpg" alt="How AI Agents Are Empowering Human-Rights Defenders artwork" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> 114 </a> 115 <p class="meta">
115Essay · Journal of Democracy · 2026</p> 116 <h3><a class="feature-link" href="https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclusive/how-ai-agents-are-empowering-human-rights-defenders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How AI Agents Are Empowering Human-Rights Defenders</a></h3> 117 </article> 118 <article> 119 <a class="feature-image-wrap" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24waV3Fwvow" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 120 <img class="feature-image" src="images/archive/talks/talks-featured-bitcoin-conference-nashville-2024.jpg" alt="Bitcoin Conference Nashville 2024 keynote thumbnail" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> 121 </a> 122 <p class="meta">Talk · Bitcoin Conference · 2024</p> 123 <h3><a class="feature-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24waV3Fwvow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bitcoin: Global Utility</a></h3> 124 </article> 125 <article> 126 <a class="feature-image-wrap" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSbMU5CbFM0" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 127 <img class="feature-image" src="images/archive/podcasts/podcasts-featured-lex-fridman-231.jpg" alt="Lex Fridman Podcast episode with Alex Gladstein" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> 128 </a> 129 <p class="meta">Podcast · Lex Fridman · 2021</p> 130 <h3><a class="feature-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSbMU5CbFM0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lex Fridman #231</a></h3> 131 </article> 132 <article> 133 <a class="feature-image-wrap" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/03/17/empowering-human-rights-through-bitcoin-and-open-source-software/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 134 <img class="feature-image" src="images/archive/press/press-forbes-empowering-human-rights-2024.png" alt="Forbes feature artwork" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> 135 </a> 136 <p class="meta">Press · Forbes · 2024</p> 137 <h3><a class="feature-link" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/03/17/empowering-human-rights-through-bitcoin-and-open-source-software/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Empowering Human Rights Through Bitcoin</a></h3> 138 </article> 139 <article> 140 <a class="feature-image-wrap" href="https://ns.com/podcast/32-alex-gladstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 141 <img class="feature-image" src="images/archive/podcasts/podcasts-network-state-balaji-alex-2025.jpg" alt="Network State podcast with Balaji and Alex Gladstein" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> 142 </a> 143 <p class="meta">Podcast · Network State · 2025</p> 144 <h3><a class="feature-link" href="https://ns.com/podcast/32-alex-gladstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bitcoin Protects Human Rights</a></h3> 145 </article> 146 </div> 147 </section> 148 149 <section class="quote shell block" aria-label="Pull quote"> 150 <blockquote>âThe biggest privilege in the world is stable money.â</blockquote> 151 <p>â Alex Gladstein</p> 152 </section> 153 154 </main> 155 156 <footer> 157 <div class="shell footer-inner"> 158 <div> 159 <h4>Alex Gladstein</h4> 160 <p>Writing, thinking, and speaking about human rights, freedom technology, Bitcoin, and open systems.</p> 161 </div> 162 <div class="status"><span></span>Archive: Live</div> 163 </div> 164 </footer> 165
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