By Jeff Benson
3 min read
Ali Alexander, organizer of the "Stop the Steal" movement that maintained that Donald Trump actually won the 2020 presidential election, has implied he's effectively in hiding since the January 6 US Capitol attack, which he allegedly helped incite.
But he's still got time to appear on audio-only social media app Clubhouse to talk about Bitcoin.
The political activist, who has been banned from sites such as Twitter and Facebook this year, hosted a Clubhouse room on Wednesday titled "How Bitcoin changed my mind and me (us)." In the room, he talked about everything from asteroid mining and elites' search for infinite gold to Janet Yellen, whom he referred to as a "stupid bitch" for her comments on Bitcoin's use in illicit transactions.
Alexander certainly has reason to embrace Bitcoin. As an activist, he relies on cash donations to help organize members of the far right. But PayPal and Venmo have cut off access, citing policies against their services being used "to promote hate, violence or other forms of intolerance." Alexander's Patreon account has also been suspended.
For a time, he was making money through GiveSendGo, a Christian crowdfunding site. He raised $30,000 before GiveSendGo deactivated his page because its payment processor wouldn't help fund Alexander.
Bitcoin, however, operates differently; cutting off access to the decentralized network is more complicated. Alexander told Clubhouse listeners that he received "passive income" from Bitcoin. "People send me small donations," he said.
It's unclear whether Alexander was one of the recipients of a December 8, 2020, donation of 28.15 BTC (then worth $522,000) to 22 addresses associated with "far-right activists and internet personalities," such as Nick Fuentes and neo-Nazi publication The Daily Stormer. A Bitcoin address linked to Alexander in 2017 via his Twitter account has not been in use since September 2020.
After the storming of the US Capitol, Alexander, whose ties to the rioters are being investigated by the FBI and Justice Department, has kept his physical location under wraps. "We are getting new hotel rooms, new vehicles, new security," he said in a social media video. "I have to now hire full-time security to live with me."
When asked what his future plans are, Alexander replied, "I only want to talk about Bitcoin, and my future plan is to get more Bitcoin."
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated: "As an activist, [Alexander] relies on cash donations to help organize members of the alt right." Alexander himself is associated with the far right but not the alt right, which has a belief set built around white identity.
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