GitHub and Slack Bans Are Hurting Iranian Bitcoin Businesses

Iranian bitcoiners are showing the world what censorship resistance really looks like.

Still, Iranian sources tell CoinDesk that interest in bitcoin has grown, not faltered.

One such Iranian bitcoiner who asked to be identified only by his first name, Amirhossein, said he lost access to Slack months ago but hasn't yet been flagged by GitHub.

He uses the site to work on an Iranian bitcoin exchange, filling the gap left by LocalBitcoins, and to contribute bitcoin reward features to a video game, working as the gaming studio's freelance developer.

Twitter is full of bitcoiners hypothesizing what would happen if governments restrict access to bitcoin and basic internet services.

Several Iranian sources told CoinDesk they are still able to comment on and contribute to public Bitcoin Core projects on GitHub since the restriction only impacts private repos and paid services.

Iranian developers are already showing how bitcoiners can participate in the global community despite censored access to some of the most popular portals for collaboration.

For Iranian bitcoin mining enterprises could help boost access.

Another Iranian developer, Jadi., who now has restricted access to GitHub pages related to feminist advocacy and Persian literary translations, told CoinDesk the recent series of bans highlights the trouble with relying on centralized systems.

He added that regulatory pressures to restrict bitcoin usage have only made the Iranian public more interested in bitcoin for cross-border payments and also as a store of value.