Steve Bannon, former assistant to President Donald Trump and a spokesman for right-wing populist movements, is now touting the liberating potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology

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Bannon hinted at the financial and non-financial applications of blockchain, as for the management of personal data, Tuesday at an event organized in Zurich by the Swiss newspaper Die Weltwoche.

During his lecture, as part of a European speaking tour, he described cryptocurrency and blockchain technology as the "very heart" of a populist movement in Switzerland.

The former right-wing media chief Breitbart, who helped Trump win the presidency in 2016 as the campaign's chief strategist, praised the importance of decentralization when he said:

"Central banks aim to devalue your currency, central governments aim to devalue your citizenship, central technology conglomerates are intended to devalue your own personal sovereignty and your own personal data."

Bannon, a former member of the National Security Council, was fired from the White House in August 2017. During his brief tenure, he often criticized the "financial elites", including those of Wall Street and Silicon Valley

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Now, the former media mogul calls cryptocurrency a perfect tool to escape the control of such elites. Bannon said:

"We take control of the central banks, which will give us back the power … Once you take control of your currency, once you take control of your data, once you take control of your citizenship, that's when you are going to have true freedom. "

However, he went on to say that the best way to "break" what he described as the globalized culture of economic oppression is with populist and nationalist movements like the one that's going on. he popularized in the United States

His political rallying cry about cryptocurrency has inspired resounding applause from the European public.

Image of Steve Bannon via Flickr / Gage Skidmore

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