Good morning, friends! Financial Freedom Report #125 is here and covers the alarming escalation of a law proposed by the military junta in Burma that would grant officials real-time access to citizens' financial and communications data. In #Bitcoin news, we cover the launch of Bark on Mainnet, another backend for Bitcoin wallets and applications to use the Lightning Network and provide users with fast and low-cost payments. We include El Faro's account of the Bukele government freezing the bank accounts and property of two shareholders of the independent media outlet. View article →

The Human Rights Foundation just published “Bitcoin for Nonprofits: A Guide To Help Your Movement Achieve Financial Freedom.” This is a practical guide for civil society organizations to accept and manage Bitcoin donations. It covers key tools, privacy best practices, real-world case studies from activists already using it, and common misconceptions. If you work with or support nonprofits, please help share this guide. The more organizations that can receive sats, the harder they will be for dictators to shut down. Read or download the PDF:

Human Rights Foundation

Bitcoin for Nonprofits: A Guide To Help Your Movement Achieve Financial Freedom

Introduction How Bitcoin Helps Bitcoin Basics Using Bitcoin In Practice Case Studies Risks and Challenges Download If you would like to save this r...

Good morning, friends! Financial Freedom Report #121 is here! In El Salvador, officials froze the assets of two members of El Faro, one of the country’s leading independent media organizations, a textbook case of financial repression to silence independent journalism. In freedom tech news, we cover the launch of Maple AI's new private Personal Intelligence Platform that expands Maple from a private AI chatbot into a suite of encrypted AI tools. We include an interview with Afghan activist and tech entrepreneur Roya Mahboob, who explains why Bitcoin is perceived radically differently in places like Kabul or Tehran than it is in New York or London. View article →

Good afternoon, friends! This month’s AI for Individual Rights Newsletter #7 is out. We cover Russia’s push into AI-enhanced internet filtering, Chinese AI models parroting CCP propaganda, and an AI-powered hacking campaign targeting Iranians who documented the regime’s killing of protesters. On the tools side, we explore how the explosion of AI agents like OpenClaw and developments in new agentic models are refining workflows and accelerating software development. We also feature the latest episode of Preston Pysh’s Infinite Tech podcast where HRF’s Alex Gladstein and Justin Moon discuss how open-source AI tools like OpenClaw advance individual freedom. View article →

Good afternoon, readers! Financial Freedom Report #109 was just published. It features pressing developments, including India advancing a CBDC pilot to distribute food rations. This comes in addition to coverage on Hong Kong sentencing media tycoon Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison, and a crackdown on informal currency exchange activity by the military junta in Burma. In #Bitcoin news, we cover the addition of Silent Payment support, a bitcoin privacy upgrade, in Sparrow and Nunchuck wallet. We include an interview with Iranian Bitcoin educator, Ziya Sadr, who shares his experience during Iran’s 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom movement and the broader impact of currency collapse and state financial repression. View article →

HRF and the Finney Family award the Finney Freedom Prize for the 2016–2020 era (Block Height 420,000 - 630,00) to Andreas M. Antonopoulos. For years, Andreas helped the world understand Bitcoin as a tool for individual freedom. Through his writing, talks, and inspirational education, he brought millions of people into the Bitcoin network, inspired a generation of developers, and showed how decentralized money can defend human rights and challenge authoritarian power. Learn more about Andreas' contributions here:

Human Rights Foundation

About Andreas Antonopoulos

About Andreas Antonopoulos Antonopoulos was selected out of a shortlist nominated by the Prize Committee that also included Saifedean Ammous, Matt ...

Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #102 is out and features the following in global news: -Venezuela | María Corina Machado Awarded Nobel Peace Prize -Russia | Increased Cash Use Amid Internet Outages and Financial Controls -Cuba | Former Economy Minister Sentenced to Life in Espionage Case In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Save the Children | Bitcoin Fund Launched -MetaMask | Bitcoin Support Added -PlebQR | Pay in Bitcoin in Thailand We end with the livestreams of the 2025 Africa Bitcoin Conference! View article →

Good morning, readers! This week's Financial Freedom Report #96 is published and features the following global strories: -Cuba | Independent Media Outlet Blamed for Inflation -Indonesia | Central Bank Expands Oversight with New CBDC-Linked Stablecoin -Tanzania | Internet Blackout and Curfew Follow Unfree and Unfair Elections In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Phoenix | Phoenix Wallet Launches Taproot Channels and Multi-Wallet Support -Bitkey | Introduces Chain Code Delegation for Enhanced Privacy -Cashu | Update Adds Mint Discovery and Web-of-Trust Ratings We end with a new episode of the “What Bitcoin Did” podcast, where HRF’s Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein explains how Bitcoin protects civil society from dictators who devalue currencies, freeze bank accounts, monitor financial activity, and employ myriad other forms of financial repression. View article →

Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #89 is now on nostr and features the following in global news: -Russia | Pushes New State-Controlled Message App to Public -Indonesia | Police Violently Suppress Student-Led Protests -Nicaragua | Ortega-Murillo Regime Land Grab In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -NIP-EE | Merged into Nostr Protocol -Macadamia Wallet | First Ecash Wallet to Implement Multi-Nut Payments -Bitchat | Adds Built-in Tor Support on Android We end with a vibe coding tutorial by HRF’s Justin Moon, Alex Gladstein, and Jhanisse Vaca Daza. In it, they teach activists and dissidents how to vibe code a simple website. View article →

Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #84 is now on nostr and features the following in global news: -El Salvador | Congress Approves Unlimited Presidential Reelections -North Korea | Regime Shutters Currency Exchange Centers Amid Currency Crash -Burma | Invasive Cybersecurity Law Comes into Full Effect In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -PPQ AI | Bitcoin-Powered AI Access -Bitle | Run Your Own Bitchat Node -Fedimint | Releases ‘Fedimint-in-a-Box’ Plus, we end with a new study from the Bitcoin Policy Institute, authored by HRF Global Bitcoin Adoption Fellow Win Ko Ko Aung, that explores how individuals across Burma, Thailand, and Laos use Bitcoin to navigate financial repression, authoritarian control, and banking exclusion. View article →

Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #81 is now published on nostr and features the following in global news: -Venezuela | Bolívar Depreciating by 13% a Month -Kenya | ‘Shoot in the Leg’ Order Amid Protests -Russia | Delays Launch of Digital Ruble CBDC In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -White Noise | New Encrypted Messaging App Built on Nostr -Cornell Bitcoin Club | Global Bitcoin Adoption Index -Fernweh | Offline Messaging via Bluetooth Plus, we end with the latest installment of the HRF x Pubkey Freedom Tech series, where HRF’s bitcoin development lead, Alex Li, sits down with Soapbox CEO Alex Gleason to discuss the current state and future of decentralized social protocols. View article →

Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #78 is now on nostr and features the following global updates: -Iran | Largest Digital Asset Exchange Hacked -India | Thousands Report Frozen Bank Accounts as Officials Crack Down on Cybercrime -Venezuela | Gold Grams Against Hyperinflation In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Blitz Wallet | Introduces LNURL Addresses and Self-Custodial Zaps -Ashigaru | Releases Zerolink CoinJoin Coordinator -Sorted Wallet | Implements Breez SDK for Bitcoin Lightning Payments Plus, we end with a debate on What Bitcoin Did, where HRF Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein and LayerTwo Labs CEO Paul Sztorc tackle a critical question: is Bitcoin scaling properly? View article →

Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #77 is now live on nostr and features the following in global news: -El Salvador | Approves Foreign Agents Law -Cuba | University Students Protest Internet Rate Hike -Iran | Currency Plunges Amid Financial Restrictions In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -SeedSigner | Introduces Right-to-Left Language Support -P2P BAND | Global Peer-to-Peer Bitcoin Aggregator -Cove Wallet | Releases on App Store with Coin Control Plus, we end featuring a new joint publication between HRF and The Signal, which explores the global battle over money and assets between dictators and dissidents. View article →

Good morning, friends! After a short break, HRF's weekly Financial Freedom Report is back! Weve got a lot of ground to cover, starting with the following in global news: -Kenya | Criminal Prosecution of Software Developer -Venezuela | National Police Raid Home of El Dorado Founder -Tanzania | Blocks Access to X and Telegram Amid Financial, Political, and Media Repression In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Breez | Adds BOLT 12 and BIP 353 Support to Nodeless SDK -BTCNutServer | Accept Ecash Payments with BTCPay Server -Chorus.Community | New Social App for Activists Plus, we end featuring an interview with exiled Hong Kong activist Nathan Law, who turned to Bitcoin to stay active in his push for freedom and democracy in the wake of China’s authoritarian crackdown. View article →

After a short break, HRF’s Financial Freedom Report is back! A lot has happened in the last two weeks, and we’ve got it all covered. Subscribe for free at financialfreedomreport.org to get tomorrow’s full issue delivered straight to your inbox. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside:

Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #69 is now live on Nostr and features the following in global news: -Turkey | Government Detains Thousands of Pro-Democracy Protesters -Tanzania | Regime Enacts Restrictions on Foreign Currency -China | Incorporates e-CNY CBDC into Financial Sector Guidelines In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Breez | Releases New Open-Source Bitcoin Wallet -OpenCash | Bounty for Open Source Cashu x BTCPay Server Plugin -Machankura | Adds Support for Offline Bitcoin Transactions in Uganda Plus, we feature the latest edition of the HRF x Pubkey Freedom Tech Series, where HRF’s Ayelen Osorio joins Zimbabwean pastor-turned-activist Evan Mawarire, who recounts his inspiring journey of a peaceful uprising against Robert Mugabe’s dictatorship and the hyperinflation and repression he unleashed on the population. View article →

Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #68 is now live on nostr and features the following in global news: -Georgia | Officials Freeze Accounts of Organizations Supporting Protesters -United Arab Emirates | Plans to Launch “Digital Durham” CBDC in 2025 -India | Grants Tax Authorities Access to Citizens’ Online Data In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -HRF | Gifts 1 Billion Satoshis to 20+ Open Source Projects Worldwide -Cove | New Open-Source and Permissionless Bitcoin Wallet -Second | New Ark Implementation Launches on Bitcoin Signet Plus, we feature a podcast in which HRF Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein discusses the state of freedom tech and why Bitcoin stands as the most promising tool for financial liberation. View article →

Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #67 is now live on Nostr and features the following in global news: -Turkey | Lira in Free Fall as Erdogan Arrests Political Rival -Cuba | Banks “Hijack” Citizen Remittances -Pakistan | Announces Plans to Regulate Digital Assets In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Demand Pool | First Stratum V2 Mining Pool Launches -Bitcoin Mining | Three Solo Blocks Found -Krux | Adds Taproot and Miniscript Support Plus, we feature Vijay Selvam's new book, “Principles of Bitcoin.” It offers a clear, first-principles guide to understanding how Bitcoin’s technology interacts with economics, politics, philosophy, and human rights. View article →

The first Financial Freedom Report of 2025 is now live on Nostr and features the following in global news: -Nicaragua | Financial Reforms Risk Enshrining Repression Into Law -China | Regime Monitoring and Censoring Economists -Iran | Shutters Onramps to Digital Asset Exchanges In Bitcoin news: -Live Wallet | Releases Transaction Privacy Analysis -Bull Bitcoin Wallet | Implements Serverless Asynchronous Payjoin -RaspiBlitz | Integrates Alby Hub Plus, an interview with Bitcoin Dada founder Lorraine Marcel, where she discusses the empowering nature of Bitcoin for women facing systemic rights abuses and financial repression. naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzpuvcn2tdwk4rs66vsu25xcnvhvmzcqey3v3qmjdw20tua7724ukpqq3yv6twv9hxx6tpdsk5vun9v4jx7mfd2fjhqmmjwskn2d3dxf3r2etnvgsxjnar

This week's Financial Freedom Report #54 is now live on Nostr and features the following in global news: -Syria | Assad Regime Overthrown -China | Youth Bear the Brunt of Economic Slowdown -Tunisia | Growing Repression of Journalists Amidst Worsening Economic Crisis In #Bitcoin news: -Klever Wallet | Integrates Lightning Network -Fedi | Adds Cashu Melting and Portable Nostr Keys -Core Lightning | Releases Latest Version with BOLT 12 by Default Plus, a live stream of the 2024 Africa Bitcoin Conference showcasing the innovative ideas, individuals, and practical tools that defined this impactful gathering. View article →