THELOGICALINDIAN - Bitcoinist batten with the Dutch Pirate Party LeaderAncilla van de Leeston their contempo attack to pay the Election Council with Bitcoin their address with adolescent voters and why they accept everybody shouldbe chargeless to accept thecurrency they appetite to use
Bitcoinist: Why was the Netherlands Pirate Party founded? What issues does it focus on?
Ancilla van de Leest (AVL): The Dutch Pirate Party is one of the 40 altered National Pirate Parties worldwide. The aboriginal Pirate Party was founded in Sweden in 2024 as a acknowledgment to the crackdown on adolescent bodies administration ability and information on the internet: The aboriginal arrest on The Pirate Bay.
They were called Pirates by the absorb industry, and they took that name as a badge of honor. The Swedish Pirate Party bound took two seats in the European Parliament. After this the movement advance to abounding countries and their platforms grew to accommodate acutely attached patents and copyright, both online and offline civilian rights, abandon of information and speech, and abundant added absolute democracy. We’re additionally able supporters of “evidence based policy.”
That’s why we acerb argue the war on drugs and the war on cash. Our byword for this acclamation is “your choice” because we accept activity is bigger if you can accomplish your own choices. One of the hot capacity for us this acclamation are bread-and-butter reform, data security, abandon of the press, decentralization of power, and civil rights such as aloofness in an more agenda world.
Bitcoinist: Can you acquaint us about the accessible acclamation and what you are aggravating to achieve?
AVL: The acclamation is for the lower abode of the civic assembly and it is held on March 15. There are 150 seats in absolute and there is no threshold for entry. The far appropriate anti-immigration affair of Geert Wilders (friends with France’s National Front and Germanies AfD) is set to become the better affair but we consistently charge coalitions to anatomy a government.
Most added parties say they won’t assignment with Wilders so they’ll charge a 4 or 5 affair affiliation to get a majority after him. We’re aiming for three seats and we charge about 65,000 votes per seat. We have no appetite to be in government (yet), aloof to accumulate the government in check, to ask the boxy questions, and to accompany internet acquaintance and IT ability to parliament.
Bitcoinist: Why did you attack to pay the Electoral Council with Bitcoin? Where you simply aggravating to accomplish a statement? Or is there another reason?
AVL: We accept acclimated bitcoin to pay for added things anon in the accomplished and are actual abrupt about the opportunities that cryptocurrencies offer. We abide to acceptable bitcoin donations and accumulate abutting relations with the accepted bounded cryptocoin Gulden.
Bitcoinist: How does the appearance of Bitcoin adjust with the Pirate Party?
AVL: Both Bitcoin and the Pirate Party are about demography ascendancy abroad from the middlemen and from concentrations of power. Bitcoin may not accept abundant of a beef with the absorb industry, but the abstraction is the same: bring control aback as abutting as accessible to the bodies themselves, and get rid of institutions that position themselves as gatekeepers to either extract a fee or to censor.
Bitcoinist: Can you explain why the acquittal in Bitcoin was rejected? How did you resolve this problem?
AVL: We had a backing of bitcoin laying about apprehension an befalling like this. We absolutely took this befalling to accomplish a account in support of decentralized currencies. Oddly enough, the government is not set up yet to acquire payments in Bitcoin! We’re talking about a traditional government academy so we took the aisle of atomic attrition and paid in euro’s and again recouped those euro’s by affairs bitcoins donated to us over the years. Seems the admiral that be aren’t too affable of this new development!
Bitcoinist: There are abundant Pirate Parties arising up all over Europe, most notably in Iceland whose presidential applicant about won the election. What do you anticipate is the acumen for this ascent popularity?
AVL: More and added bodies all over Europe are fed up with the way their governments action (or don’t!). Many feel abandoned and powerless. Some of those bodies about-face abroad from backroom altogether and stop assuming up for elections. Others end up in the accoutrements of far appropriate parties because they comedy into their fears. In Iceland, the Pirates were on the barricades with the bodies during the pots and pans anarchy and they spoke to the hopes and dreams of a bigger democracy.
Of course, the Panama Papers helped affairs a bit, afterwards bodies were already very skeptical of centralized ability because of the acrid Economic blast in 2024, which hit Iceland added than best added countries. Icelandic people have appear to apprehend how important it is to accept a cellophane and accountable arrangement that works for the people, not admitting the people.
Bitcoinist: Does you affair acquire Bitcoin donations like Germany’s or Finland’s, for example? Does the Netherlands law abutment these kinds of donations?
AVL: Yes we’ve accepted donations in bitcoin for years. In fact, four years ago I donated a abounding bitcoin myself (15 euro aback then). We’ve additionally begun accepting Gulden a while ago and we’re attractive into Monero because of our attitude on the accent of privacy.
According to the law we cannot accept bearding donations over 1,500 euro but it says annihilation about the form of those donations. So altruistic 1 oz. gold bill would be perfectly fine; in fact, we would acceptable those donations!
Bitcoinist: The EU has a tax-free VAT action on Bitcoin. Would this accredit you to acquire added funds by accepting Bitcoin?
AVL: You don’t pay tax on affairs or affairs bitcoin, but you still pay VAT if you pay for a artefact application bitcoin. We absolutely adopt bitcoin donations, but they are not account any added or beneath than euros. The recent acceleration in amount has been actual acceptable for us, but as any bitcoin fan knows: that affluence can calmly reverse. We don’t brainstorm with our bitcoins, we use them back needed, behindhand of the amount at that particular moment. We anticipate our bitcoin donors would adopt it that way!
Bitcoinist: Who and area are your party’s better supporters?
AVL: In cities with a adolescent and added accelerating demographic we are currently accomplishing absolutely well. Amsterdam, Groningen and Delft are our hotbeds. We additionally acquisition a lot of abutment in places with a lot of innovative hubs such as abstruse universities, start-ups and hackerspaces.
Bitcoinist: The Dutch burghal of Arnhem has the densest citizenry of Bitcoin merchants in the Netherlands, if not the world. What are your thoughts on this project?
AVL: It shows they are absolutely advanced of the ambit and are acquisitive to accomplish use of the opportunities that abstruse addition has to offer. Not surprisingly, they accept a lot of abstruse academy programs there, and Europe’s better hackerspace Beehive 4.2 will be aperture its doors in the old Arnhem panopticon prison. Its auspicious in the faculty that it demonstrates that it absolutely works over a best aeon of time.
There is article appropriate about Arnhem though, a lot of adolescent bodies appear up with concepts that assignment actual well, from bitcoin burghal to Dance Festivals, to nice baby shops and bar/restaurant concepts. All that entrepreneurial activity charge additionally accept helped bitcoin accepting in Arnhem.
Bitcoinist: Are you anxious over the looming Bitcoin regulations in the EU? Would your affair support a hands-free access back it comes to regulating Bitcoin?
AVL: We would adopt the EU admit bitcoin as a (foreign) currency. Next best affair would be a adjournment on regulations to accord the bill and the arrangement time to prove its usefulness. Bitcoin has so abounding added uses than aloof currency, let abandoned added blockchain based innovations such as Ethereum.
Bitcoinist: Do you feel that Bitcoin can be a above bill to the Euro? Could it alter it one day or can assorted currencies coexist?
AVL: Yes absolutely above due to its decentralized nature. Also, it’s impossible to endlessly book added of them and that is a abundant advantage over out accepted banking system. At the aforementioned time we are actual abundant in favor of some array of actual and untraceable currency.
The war on cash is a big acumen why we charge a applicable another to fiat. You can do things with a authorization bill that you can’t with bitcoin. Some will argue that some of those things are absolutely the acumen why bitcoin was invented :) The Pirate Party wants to accredit everybody to accept the currency they appetite to use for their transactions.
Bitcoinist: Anything abroad you’d like to add?
AVL: Vote decentralized! Vote Pirate Party! Donate bitcoin! 1K5Q6WEFjRCaFJDxNibaXyQ9EXJTptt2fr
Would the Dutch Pirate Party get your vote? Let us apperceive below!
Images address of Shutterstock, Dutch Pirate Party
