Dark Wallet: Bitcoin, Controversy And Innovation

In 2013 Darkwallet, an unSYSTEM project, initiated a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo.

unSYSTEM states, “Our goal is not to placate and obey the rules of the people responsible for navigating the world into a permanent financial crisis. With or without their permission, we are going to build a better future out of the ashes of this system which they broke, and you can help.”

The campaign on Indiegogo concluded in November 2013, achieving 104% of its goal.

“Dark Wallet is a light browser wallet relying on an independent Bitcoin implementation with out-of-the-box security and privacy features.“
— – Darkwallet

The funds came as a pleasant surprise to Cody Wilson, Director of Darkwallet and the US non profit, Defense Distributed.

Defence Distributed released the files for the Liberator pistol, a 3D printable single shot handgun, in May 2013. “DD is still involved in a conflict with the US State Department over whether there is a requirement to seek government approval before releasing privately generated gun files into the public domain.”, Defense Distributed.

Wilson thought the amount they were raising for Darkwallet was a bit of a stretch, stating that he realistically expected around $30,000 USD in donations.

The Darkwallet project is making waves again, not only in the Bitcoin community but also in mass media. Articles have been published in Forbes, The New Yorker and the BBC. The latter sparked a Bitcoin community outcry. The BBC article, titled “Hiding Currency in the Dark wallet” starts by posing the question,”What if the software you developed ended up being used by extremists?”. The video accompanying the article is titled, “The squatting developer behind the new Bitcoin tech Islamic State want for money laundering.” The article goes on to state, “When questioned Taaki indicates he is comfortable with the possibility of his software being used by extremists in conflicts in Iraq and Syria”.

In an interview with Max Keiser, Taaki expresses his disappointment with the BBC, and waves away compliments from the host by saying, “Don’t big me up so much.” going on to explain “At the moment it’s just about a wallet where you can have your privacy, you can maintain the integrity of your transactions. Anonymity is really important for free speech.”

Taaki seems to remain unperturbed and continues to move forward, focusing on Bitcoin’s bigger picture, “Bitcoin’s more than a way to move money around. Bitcoin is global. Bitcoin is anonymous. Well, it can be anonymous. It’s uncensored, it’s decentralized.”

Taaki’s unique manner of bootstrapping, by living in squats across Europe, has attracted a great deal of interest also. Antoine De Vuyst, founder of Bumblebee Exchange, was able to visit the current squat in central London, after attending the regional Inside Bitcoins conference.

The large building is now host to an exciting Bitcoin movement. It’s been the scene of many news worthy activities, such as a G8 protest which brought in riot police. With Taaki’s view that technology is not “politically neutral”, the anarchistic energy there may steer development of Darkwallets in new and innovative ways.

“For now [Darkwallet] is just a simple premise, we’re building the foundation that we can later go and innovate on top and next year create a lot more crazy things.”
— – Taaki, on the Max Keiser Show.

In order to preserve their privacy, BNC News will not disclose the location of the squat. However, the average asking price for a home in the same area sits at a healthy £2.3 million.

De Vuyst speaks very fondly of his experience. “There were a lot of people from the conference who stopped by to hang out in the evening. It was kind of a cool mix. You had developers and some venture capitalists. Everyone was just being friendly.”

Amir Taaki has a reputation for being very passionate about his political views and speaks eloquently about Bitcoin technology. De Vuyst refers to a comment about Taaki on a reddit post by Peter Todd regarding the BBC interview.

“Actually if anything the BBC presented him as less passionate than he was in person when they were interviewing him; if anything the article is slightly inaccurate and could have presented him as more radical than they did.” – Peter Todd

This high passion from what De Vuyst witnessed drove collaboration to heights that amazed him.

"These are some of the most knowledgeable people in the world regarding Bitcoin. Peter Todd and Amir Taaki as well of course. People were hashing out new concepts as well, like new Proof of Stakes, and it felt like in depth research was being conducted while I was there!”

Darkwallet is now on the release of their Alpha 6 and the user comments reveal they are pleased with the tracking of the releases. With this level of consistency, it can be expected that they will achieve their goals.

"We are interested in scaling up the Bitcoin infrastructure in an intentionally subversive and empowering direction- taking Bitcoin just where it has been threatening to go. Towards an integrity of values, and a neutrality promoted by anonymity and a resistance to censorship. Software can stand for something.”
— – Darkwallet

Given the current regulatory climate, it’s a breath of fresh air to know that there are products which provide the people with a choice as to how they want to handle their finances. With freedom of speech comes freedom of choice, and the choice is ultimately yours.

B.Holmes, author of The Range of Illusion and The Private Key installments, is currently located in Thailand, researching and writing about crypto. You can follow B.Holmes on twitter @BanteringB, or contact via email: [email protected]