Gab Doesn’t Want Your Social Media Token — It Wants Bitcoin

Andrew Torba is getting into Bitcoin.Well, actually, he’s been into Bitcoin for quite some time. He contributed to CoinDesk back in 2013, most notably with an article he wrote about buying a Subway footlong with bitcoin.This was three years before he founded Gab, an alternative social media network “that champions free speech, individual liberty and the free flow of information online.” Gab has accepted bitcoin donations since its launch in 2016, but now it’s getting even further into the original cryptocurrency.Torba doesn’t just want to bankroll Gab with bitcoin; he wants to embed bitcoin into Gab’s design. So, Gab forked Basic Attention Token’s Brave browser to speed things up (among other reasons).Free Speech MoneySince coming onto the scene in 2016, Gab has been something of a pariah among popular social media websites. This is mainly due to the clientele it attracts, namely, right-leaning patrons of various creeds and colors (with the alt-right community being of primary concern to detractors).It has been described as “an echo chamber for right-leaning content dissemination,” though similar claims that it is unmoderated are overstated: the site prohibits doxxing, violent discourse and threats, child or other illegal pornography, and spamming, amongst other no-nos. Still, it has been highly controversial for its dogged defense of free-speech accommodation for far-right iconoclasts. For this, it has earned a title as a “...