Wikileaks founder and renegade Julian Assange has thrown his not inconsiderable weight even more strongly behind cryptocurrencies, a series of tweets announced in the past week. Already a strong supporter of Bitcoin as an alternative currency, Assange has announced that Wikileaks will accept public donations in an expanded range of cryptocurrencies, to include Bitcoin, Monero, ZCash and Litecoin.

He\'s taking a stand against what he calls the illegal \'blockade\' by national governments which hampers the trade activities of free citizens – and aims to prevent donations from the public on which Wikileaks relies for its running costs. Assange has long been a supporter of Bitcoin as a decentralised digital model, which could circumvent the financial controls imposed by the banking system.

This week’s announcements come in the wake of Assange\'s discovery of an alleged CIA plot to close down the gateway which allows donors to make tax deductible contributions. Initially, the EU gateway foundation, Wau Holland Stiftung, was targeted, but now Assange confirms that the Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) will also close Wikileaks\' US tax deductible gateway in January 2018, in a move that seems to countermand FPF\'s proclaimed purpose.

Assange\'s response, as always, is to fight back, and he urges all donors to adopt a wider range of cryptocurrencies to do so.