Julian Assange is launching an NFT collection titled “Censored”. The series, created in collaboration with Pak, will launch on 7 February.
Summary
Censored, the NFT series by Julian Assange
Pak, the NFT artist known for his “Merge” project, has confirmed the collaboration, selling NFTs intended to be “assembled” for 91.8 million dollars. The announcement arrived on 6 January but in a very cryptic way. The WikiLeaks account simply tweeted a black background with the words “one thousand”, shared by Pak who on 30 January announced the collaboration with the founder of Wikileaks:
Censored is a collaboration with Julian Assange.
It's about you.It consists of two parts, a dynamic 1/1 and a dynamic open edition, for you all to participate.
It will be here on February 7th. https://t.co/QvKlk3oIs8
— Pak (@muratpak) January 30, 2022
“Censored is a collaboration with Julian Assange.
It’s about you.
It consists of two parts, a dynamic 1/1 and a dynamic open edition, for you all to participate.
It will be here on February 7th”.
Other details were not provided.
Does Wikileaks fund itself with NFTs?
Wikileaks has long been accepting donations in cryptocurrencies. It is possible to fund Julian Assange’s organization with Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, ZCash, Monero and Ethereum.
The launch of “Censored” NFTs could be another way to raise funds using the blockchain. This would not be the first attempt to use NFTs for crowdfunding. A similar attempt was made by actress Jennifer Esposito, to fund her upcoming film.
But Wikileaks doesn’t produce movies or do entertainment. Wikileaks is specialized in the collection and publication of “sensitive” material concerning political plots, wars, corruption. It was founded by Julian Assange in 2006 and the truth is that lately it has not been very productive. The latest “leaks” are dated December 2018.
The legal affairs of Julian Assange
The fate of Wikileaks has been influenced by the legal affairs of founder Julian Assange. He risks as much as 175 years in prison for the documents he released. He is currently detained in London and just a week ago the High Court of Justice allowed him to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom against his extradition. Assange had been arrested on 11 April 2019 while he was in Ecuador’s embassy in London. During his time in custody, he saw a charge of rape coming from Sweden dismissed, while the United States, in addition to hacking, charged Assange with 17 other felonies, including conspiracy and espionage, enough to make him spend the rest of his life in prison.
In January 2021, the London court had rejected an initial request for extraction. But in December 2021, the US government’s appeal was upheld. Last week it was decided that Assange can appeal and thus attempt not to be brought to trial in the United States.
Assange’s issue does not only concern his person but freedom of the press. Assange has collaborated with the world’s biggest newspapers to which he disseminated his secret information. Which is why he can cause an uproar. Assange is a matter of truth.
