Recently freed political activist Julian Assange's flight to Australia from the UK – where he had been behind bars for more than five years – was financed by an anonymous donor, who transferred to his wife just over $500,000 in Bitcoin.
The Wikileaks founder's transit from the UK was arranged for by the Australian government through a Jet on condition that he will return the money later.
Assange's wife, Stella Assange, who had been lobbying for his release ever since his imprisonment, had launched a page online to crowdfund the sum through traditional channels. However, she later launched another page which accepted payments in Bitcoin.
According to CoinDesk, the bitcoin address has received 34 donations totaling just over $500,000– the largest chunk of which coming from just that one 8.07 BTC donation.
The original fiat site has also received about $500,000 in donations, it said.
Assange was imprisoned by the London authorities in April 2019 for violating the country's Bail Act, having earlier been arrested on an international warrant for allegedly sexually assaulting two women in Sweden.
He was indicted by the US authorities on the charges of espionage for having revealed classified documents pertaining to the Iraq War, prisoners' treatment at Guantanamo Bay jail, and other military secrets through Army personnel Chelsea Manning. He stood to face 175 years in prison if extradited to the US and trialled.
Recently the US Department of Justice granted him the chance to have his time served provided he pleaded guilty, which he took.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Image Source: David G Silvers. Ecuador Consulate in London.
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