Anonymous fund plans to invest and donate $75M in bitcoin to startups working on enhancing privacy
The Unknown Fund, organized by a group of anonymous people, plans to invest and donate $75 million in bitcoin (BTC) to those startups working directly or indirectly on enhancing privacy.
Announcing the news on Wednesday, the Unknown Fund said it would prefer startups working on four niches - personal data protection, tools for online anonymity, cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
The protection of personal data is one of the main challenges for modern man, according to the fund. Giving examples of data manipulation, the group said how social media impacted Brexit campaigns and presidential elections in the U.S., among others.
“The main goal of large corporations is to collect as much information as possible about the personal lives of people, and then use it for their enrichment. And they do a great job of it by making ordinary people get poorer. We are ready to fight for change and protect people," an anonymous organizer(s) commented.
Organizers of the fund are from different countries and met on 4chan, an anonymous English-language imageboard site, per the announcement. The fund plans to invest the amount in commercial startups while making donations to nonprofit organizations.
The fund’s website does not offer much information, except for a quote from Edward Snowden, which says “It is not data that is being exploited, it is people that are being exploited,” and an email address, where startups can apply to get an investment or a donation.
“Investing is just the beginning. Anonymous have developed a number of strategies and methods that will be announced later,” the fund said, concluding: “We will continue to fight as much as necessary to achieve our goal.”
