WikiLeaks’ official acceptance of Bitcoin on June 14, 2011 stands out as one of the frequently cited breaking moments in the development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The organization, which faced a heavy financial blockade after the Cablegate documents published at that time, shared a Bitcoin address to collect donations.
Bitcoin move after financial blockade
The severance of ties with WikiLeaks by traditional payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Bank of America and Western Union directly affected the income structure of the organization. According to the transferred data, this step eliminated approximately 95% of WikiLeaks’ operating income in a short time.
Following this development, WikiLeaks turned to Bitcoin to accept donations. Thus, Bitcoin gained global visibility for the first time as a payment instrument that can operate outside traditional financial channels, rather than being a digital asset discussed only in technical circles.
WikiLeaks’ acceptance of Bitcoin has been hailed as one of the first major tests of how a network operating independently of centralized structures will operate under real-world pressures.
Satoshi Nakamoto’s remarkable warning
This process also coincided with a period that Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, was watching with concern. In his message on the BitcoinTalk forums, Satoshi stated that WikiLeaks was “throwing a wrench into the hornet’s nest.” These words were interpreted as a sign of concern that the young network could be harmed by sudden and intense interest.
Mini dictionary: Cablegate is the name given to the large document leak containing US diplomatic cables published in 2010. After these documents, WikiLeaks faced political and financial pressure on a global scale.
Just a few weeks after this warning, Satoshi completely withdrew from the public eye. For this reason, the WikiLeaks period is of historical importance not only in terms of the usage area of Bitcoin, but also in terms of being the last phase of Satoshi’s public existence.
New admissions in the following years
After WikiLeaks, other institutions and platforms began to consider accepting payments or donations with Bitcoin. Content management system WordPress started supporting Bitcoin payments in November 2012.
In February 2013, the Internet Archive announced that it was ready to accept donations in Bitcoin. The non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, to which Wikipedia is affiliated, was also among the organizations that later added Bitcoin as a donation method to its system.
These steps were among the examples that show that in its early years, Bitcoin was discussed not only for its price movements but also as a censorship-resistant and cross-border value transfer tool.
