Twitter CEO calls for Bitcoin donations to fight police brutality in Nigeria

Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey called on his fans to donate Bitcoin to the endSARS cause, which aims to end police brutality in Nigeria.

Donate Bitcoin to help the EndSARS cause. — jack (@jack) October 14, 2020

The cryptocurrency donation site he linked to is run by a group of Nigerian feminists who are fighting the Nigerian police’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) through protests, fundraising, and social media.

On October 4, a series of demonstrations began in Nigeria, with thousands of people taking to the streets to protest against the brutality of the Nigerian police and calling for the disbanding of SARS, so much so that the topic #endSARS became a hot search.

Multiple crypto startups such as BuyCoins and Busha have also donated Bitcoin to the cause.

Ray Youssef, CEO of Paxful, a popular peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace in Africa, also supported the endSARS hashtag, accusing the police of unduly targeting young people using cryptocurrency. He said the situation is “a real human rights crisis going on right now!”

This is a real human rights crisis going on right now! Police targeting young entrepreneurs using crypto. Nigerians were smart and early adopters of crypto and are using it legally to escape poverty and restore the honor of their nation, and this is what they are getting? — Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) October 11, 2020

Jack Dorsey has long been a supporter of Bitcoin. In the past, he has said that Bitcoin is “probably the best” native currency on the Internet because it is “built on consensus” and “built by everyone.”

Dorsey's payment company Square Inc has established a new open-source nonprofit to hold crypto patents. Last week, Square joined MicroStrategy as a large public company holding Bitcoin on its books after purchasing $50 million worth of BTC. The news made headlines and appeared in major newspapers around the world, such as The Scotsman, which said the move "sent ripples throughout corporate America." (Cointelegraph Chinese)