WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange returns to social platform X after two years

BlockBeats news, September 17: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has returned to social platform X after two years. Today he posted "I'm back," along with a photo of himself standing on an Australian street pointing at a mural of himself. His wife Stella said this is his official account returning, with more news to come next week.

Assange was born in Australia in 1971 and founded WikiLeaks in 2006. Around 2010, he published records of U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. diplomatic cables, after which he engaged in a long legal battle with the U.S. and U.K. He first took refuge in Ecuador's embassy in London for seven years, was arrested by the U.K. in 2019 and held in Belmarsh prison, and in June 2024 reached a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information in exchange for credit for time served, and was released and returned to Australia. He has largely stayed out of public view for the past two years.

After Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and others cut off WikiLeaks' fiat channels at the end of 2010, Assange turned to Bitcoin for payments, becoming one of the earliest large organizations to use BTC as a censorship-resistant settlement tool. He has since spoken publicly about cryptocurrency multiple times, viewing it as infrastructure to bypass banking blockades and protect sources and fund flows, while WikiLeaks has long accepted donations in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.