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February 20, 2025

# The Real Reason They Want Roger Ver: It’s Not Taxes, It’s Control

Editor Crypto Matt Agorist, The Free Thought Project

The government’s war against Ver isn’t just a legal battle; it’s a warning shot to anyone daring to challenge state-controlled financial systems.

Roger Ver, one of the earliest and most outspoken advocates for Bitcoin, has spent decades fighting for financial freedom. Now, the U.S. government is fighting to drag him back in chains. Spain has officially denied Ver’s final appeal against extradition, setting the stage for his return to the U.S., where he faces up to 109 years in prison on tax-related charges. But let’s be honest—this was never about taxes.

This is about control.

The government’s war against Ver isn’t just a legal battle; it’s a warning shot to anyone daring to challenge state-controlled financial systems. Ver, who renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2014, has been relentlessly targeted ever since, not because he owes taxes, but because he represents a threat to the traditional financial order.

#### A History of Persecuting Dissenters

If history has taught us anything, it’s that when someone threatens the status quo, the state crushes them. We’ve seen it with Julian Assange, who exposed government crimes. We’ve seen it with John McAfee, who mysteriously died in a Spanish prison under eerily similar circumstances. And now, Roger Ver is next in line.

In his documentary Bitcoin Jesus: The Rise, Legacy, and Fight for Freedom, Ver himself lays it out: “This isn’t about money. This is about trying to suppress people from spreading American ideals to the world through the use of cryptocurrency.”

That’s what they’re really afraid of. Decentralized money is decentralized power, and they can’t have that.

#### Weaponizing the Tax System

The charges against Ver stem from an alleged underpayment of his “exit tax” when he renounced his citizenship. But let’s break that down:

- Ver hired multiple tax attorneys and former federal prosecutors to ensure everything was done by the book.
- The government is literally charging him with mail fraud because his tax returns were mailed more than once.
- 90 of the 109 years he faces are for “mail fraud,” not actual tax evasion.

Does that sound like justice? Or does it sound like selective prosecution meant to punish someone who dared to walk away from the system?

And apparently, the champion of “free speech” and alleged anti-corruption superhero, Elon Musk fully supports Ver’s persecution. As we reported last week, Musk, who once presented himself as a champion of free markets and financial sovereignty, told Roger Ver that he would not be pardoned under his watch. This raises serious questions about Musk’s allegiances. Is he truly for financial freedom, or is he just another tool of the establishment? If Musk genuinely believes in decentralization and financial autonomy, he should be calling for Ver’s pardon—not letting one of the pioneers of the crypto revolution rot in a U.S. prison. If he doesn’t reverse course, it’s time to ask: Is Elon working for the controllers?

#### The Real Threat: Crypto That Can’t Be Controlled

Ver has been a champion of financial privacy and self-sovereignty for decades. He was an early supporter of Bitcoin when it was actually about freedom, before it was hijacked by institutional players. But that mission is far from lost—it has evolved.

Projects like Zano are picking up where Bitcoin left off, developing real privacy-focused financial solutions that governments cannot control. Zano is a hybrid proof-of-work and proof-of-stake blockchain with untraceable transactions, making it a direct countermeasure to the financial surveillance state.

It’s no coincidence that the same people who hate Roger Ver are the same people fighting to destroy privacy coins like Monero, Zano, and Haven. They don’t just want to tax you; they want complete control over how you transact.

#### What Happens Next?

Ver’s extradition isn’t just about him. It’s about sending a message to anyone who dares to opt out of the system. It’s about making an example out of financial rebels so that fewer people follow in their footsteps.

But the fight isn’t over.

If the U.S. government succeeds in dragging Ver back, it will set a dangerous precedent for every crypto innovator, privacy advocate, and financial dissenter out there. And if we don’t speak up now, we might be looking at the beginning of the end for true financial freedom.

Supporters of Ver have launched FreeRogerNow.org to call for his pardon and prevent this blatant political persecution from moving forward.

This is bigger than Roger Ver. It’s about the future of financial freedom. And it’s time to fight back.

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