Roger Ver, one of the earliest Bitcoin investors was arrested in Spain for alleged tax evasion and the US Govt is seeking his extradition. The US DOJ claims that Roger under-reported the value of his Bitcoin holdings when he gave up his US citizenship in ‘2014’. At that time Bitcoin was the wild-west of investing. There were no rules and regulations governing Bitcoin. It wasn’t clear what the legal status of Bitcoin was. Bitcoin value would vary substantially with any large transaction crashing the price of Bitcoin. How do you assess the value of such an illiquid asset back in 2014? To now claim, a decade later, that Roger owes $50 million in taxes to the US Govt is ludicrous. I have read the indictment and its completely novel, unprecedented and unfair. It’s also a hopeless attempt to attach a value to something that was trading in a fragile, volatile and unregulated market in 2014. Many ‘investment gurus’ at the time predicted the total collapse of Bitcoin and that crypto currency is only used by criminals as a tool for money laundering and potentially funding terrorism. No investment bank would have touched Bitcoin at that time. How does the US Govt calculate what Bitcoin was worth in those days of total uncertainty? If Roger would have tried to sell his Bitcoin holdings in 2014 the market would have crashed by 80% or more. How do you fairly asses the value of something that is was so new and fragile? The US Govt doesn’t even make an attempt to be fair and balanced. Make no mistake. This indictment has nothing to do with tax evasion. It’s a witch hunt against a man who turned his back on US wars and malicious foreign and domestic policy. Roger is a supporter of Julian Assange and press freedom not just with words but with actions. He’s a popular speaker at crypto events around the world where he educates people about the injustices caused by the US Govt. Roger spoke out against mass surveillance, endless wars and the murder of innocent people for profit. He funded many good causes against US imperialism and that’s why they target him. At every opportunity Roger spoke about why he left his US citizenship behind and a wave of successful Americans followed his example. The US Govt has lost hundreds of billions because Roger was leading the way for many successful entrepreneurs who followed his example. This is a malicious attempt to vilify Roger and to punish him for exposing and opposing the crimes of US empire. Roger Ver is one of my closest friends and I vouch for his integrity and exemplary leadership. His empathy for humanity and his efforts to take the world on a path of peace through technology are laudable. He always stood up against evil and now I would like to ask the crypto community to stand up for Roger Ver. He has done so much good for the crypto community with his advocacy and investments. Let’s leave our differences about what’s the best coin behind and join together to help him. He has played a crucial role in the history of crypto and is deserving of our support. We didn’t call him Bitcoin Jesus for nothing. #FreeRogerVer