In an unexpected turn of events, Elizabeth Warren, the long-time adversary of Bitcoin on Capitol Hill, has seen the orange-tinted light and quite literally raised a flag to praise the work of Bitcoin’s anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, celebrating 15 years since the network launched.
In participation of the Capitol Flag Program, Senator Warren’s office submitted a request to commemorate Nakamoto’s accomplishment of creating the first “truly inclusive financial system,” with the colors of the United States being flown above the Capitol on December 18, 2023 – a date known to Bitcoiners as HODL Day.
While the sudden embrace of Bitcoin by the Massachusetts Senator may seem a surprise, her career-long rhetoric about fighting for the financially under-served has finally taken shape within this tangible statement. As if speaking to her campaign promises to champion the working class negatively affected by corruption within both the government and the banking sector, the certificate produced by the Architect of the Capitol in recognition of the flag notes the “new economic freedoms to populations previously ignored by both private and public institutions” brought forward by Nakamoto’s Bitcoin.
The Senator’s office filing for the flag flying itself was noticed by friends of Bitcoin Magazine, PubKey, who are holding a public event in New York City this evening, February 15, at 6:00 PM EST, to unveil not only the story of the flag, but the flag itself, complete with a dramatized reading of the infamous December 18, 2013 post on BitcoinTalk that immortalized “HODL” within the Bitcoin lexicon from actor, comedian and Bitcoiner T.J. Miller. Prior to the event itself, an X (formerly Twitter) Spaces hosted by Bitcoin Magazine and PubKey at 4:30 PM EST will further tell the story of how Satoshi’s Flag and Warren’s endorsement came to be. Much like during the mid-1770s, freedom-focused bars such as PubKey play an important role in socializing the ideas and stories that make up a revolution.
Thomas Pacchia, Co-Founder of PubKey, made note of the Senator’s pivot when speaking with Bitcoin Magazine. “This is a historic moment for how politicians in Washington view the promise and inclusivity of the Bitcoin protocol. What politicians do is much more important than what they say.” Her website describes her as “a leading voice for consumer protection, financial reform, and social justice,” and her recent action of promoting Satoshi’s work seems to be in total alignment with her stated political mission.
Only one week before Warren ordered the flag flown, the Senator introduced legislation to give the Treasury more tools to restrict the criminal usage of Bitcoin, making bold comments that they “need new laws to crack down on crypto’s use in enabling terrorist groups, rogue nations, drug lords, ransomware gangs, and fraudsters to launder billions in stolen funds, evade sanctions, fund illegal weapons programs, and profit from devastating cyberattacks.” She even went so far as to make note of creating “an anti-crypto army” in March of last year, in her bid for reelection. Warren had co-authored a letter to Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson in May 2022 raising concerns about putting Bitcoin within their 401(k)s, stating that, “Investing in cryptocurrencies is a risky and speculative gamble, and we are concerned that Fidelity would take these risks with millions of Americans’ retirement savings.”
Now that U.S. regulatory agencies such as the SEC have allowed the approval of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs, including Fidelity’s FBTC, Warren has changed her tone, recognizing the immense economic freedom brought about by such a novel technology, and now joins a growing group of elected officials throwing their name behind Nakamoto’s protocol.
Bitcoin Magazine and PubKey encourage Bitcoiners to take polite note of this change of heart by reaching out to Warren’s office directly, as well as tagging her X (formerly Twitter) handle, and thanking her for championing Satoshi Nakamoto and recognizing him as the hero he is.