Senior Bitcoin developer Jon Atack was arrested in El Salvador over the weekend following a dispute with a neighbor, sparking an internet flurry of concern earlier than he was freed about an hour later.
Atack, who contributes to Bitcoin Core, posted on microblogging platform X that police confiscated his cellphone and passport, reducing him off from the skin world and fueling fears in crypto circles.
Regulation enforcement initially advised him he might be despatched to a close-by jail, although he averted that consequence.
The altercation seems tied to a disagreement over property points quite than Atack’s crypto work. Stacy Herbert, director of El Salvador’s Nationwide Bitcoin Workplace and a vocal supporter of President Nayib Bukele, mentioned Atack’s neighbor accused him of “violence against women.”
Below El Salvador’s 2012 legislation generally known as Vida Libre de Violencia para las Mujeres (LEIV), which instantly interprets to “life free from violence for women,” violent speech and threats towards ladies are legal offenses.
Atack was launched inside minutes after being handcuffed, describing the officers as “professional and friendly.” He thanked supporters on-line, saying, “This was the first time I’ve been in cuffs and God willing also the last time.”
