In a secret five-hour meeting in 2011, Julian Assange and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt discussed WikiLeaks, US foreign policy, and Bitcoin. At the time, Assange was under house arrest while WikiLeaks was actively publishing sensitive information. The meeting was framed as research for a book Schmidt was co-writing about the impact of social media on global power dynamics. During their discussion, Schmidt expressed a lack of familiarity with Bitcoin, but both men recognized its potential as a decentralized technology. Assange posited that similar to Bitcoin, a new internet routing system could enhance freedom of information by resisting censorship, especially during political upheavals. He explained Bitcoin's proof of work and its growing scarcity, advising Schmidt to adopt it early on. Notably, since that meeting, Bitcoin's value has surged significantly. Following the meeting, Assange would seek asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy and later face legal battles, while the internet has become increasingly censored by governments and corporations.

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