Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #92 is now published and features the following in global news: -North Korea | Automated Banking Hotline Deepens Surveillance -Russia | Amends Foreign Agent Law with Tougher Penalties -Togo | Digital Protests Against Gnassingbé Dictatorship In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Research | Daniela Brozzoni Analyzes Bitcoin Node Fee Filter Settings -Cashu | Draft Proposal Adds Oblivious HTTP for Stronger Privacy -Layerz Wallet | New Bitcoin Wallet with Multi-Layer Support We end with a chilling dispatch from Russian independent media outlet Meduza, which collected testimonies where Russians describe daily life on the Kremlin’s new “whitelist” Internet, which allows access only to state-approved sites. View Article →
Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #91 is now published and features the following in global news: -Vietnam | Millions of Bank Accounts Deleted -El Salvador | New Banking Law Amid Democratic Backslide -Cuba | Integrates into Chinese Payment System and Represses Protests In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Swapso | Integrates Lightning and Liquid Networks with Breez SDK -Alby | Testing Spark Wallet Integration -Cashu Development Kit | Introduces FFI Bindings for Interoperability We end with an article in Journal of Democracy, where University of Chicago professor Paul Staniland examines how mass protests have toppled governments in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in the past three years. View Article →
Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #90 is now published and features the following in global news: -Thailand | Freezes Accounts and Imposes Transfer Limits -India | Government Opposes Complete Digital Asset Framework -Russia | St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport Accepts CBDC Payments In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Bitchat | Surges Amid Social Media Bans and Protests -Fedimint | Launches E-Cash App -Banxaas | Expands Bitcoin Access to Côte d’Ivoire We end with an interview on the F-Squared Podcast with Catherine Karimi Gichunge, who recounts how one of Africa’s largest mobile money systems, M-Pesa, was built. 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 #88 is now on nostr and features the following in global news: -Georgia | Freezes Bank Accounts of Seven NGOs -Nigeria | eNaira CBDC Goes Offline -Cuba | Pension Increase Evaporates Under Currency Debasement In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Damus | Launches on Android -Cashu | Merges Support for BOLT 12 -Papa Swap | New Submarine Swap Protocol We end with an interview with Rwandan activist Anaïse Kanimba, who reflects on her family’s fight for freedom after her father Paul Rusesabagina’s abduction and explains how Bitcoin has become both a practical tool and a symbol of resilience for those resisting authoritarian regimes in Africa. View Article →
Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #87 is now on nostr and features the following in global news: -Russia | Grants Police Power to Freeze Bank Accounts -Iran | Confiscates Property and Bank Accounts of Bahá’i Minorities -Syria | Plans to Drop Two Zeros from Currency In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Bitsacco | Adds Support for Lightning Addresses -Bitchat | Launches on Google Play Store -Africa Bitcoin Institute | New African Leadership in Bitcoin Research We end with a dedicated Freedom Tech portion of the SALT Investment Conference, showcasing how Bitcoin and open source technologies intersect with human rights, activism, and financial freedom. View Article →
Good morning, readers! This week's Financial Freedom Report #86 is now on nostr and features the following in global news: -Ethiopia | Freezes Bank Accounts of Individuals Using Foreign Currency -Cuba | Four Hundred Pesos to the Dollar -Tanzania | Court Bans Broadcasting of Opposition Trial In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Ginger Wallet | Adds Native CoinJoin Privacy Feature -BTCPay Server | Integrates Cal.com -Block Inc. | Introduces Proto Rig and Fleet Plus, we end with the latest edition of the HRF x Pubkey Freedom Tech Series, where Rwandan human rights advocate, Anaïse Kanimba, joins HRF’s Global Bitcoin Lead, Femi Longe, to discuss her story, securing the release of her father, and how it led her to embrace Bitcoin as a freedom technology. View Article →
Good morning, friends! This week's Financial Freedom Report #85 is now on nostr and features the following in global news: -Bolivia | Banks Limit Withdrawals as Digital Asset Usage and Inflation Climb -Russia | Crackdown on Financial Dissent Expands to Digital Control -Turkey | Detains Ethereum Developers In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News: -Payjoin Foundation | Launches to Advance Bitcoin Privacy -Mi Primer Bitcoin | Releases AI Agent for Bitcoin Diploma -Nostrpay | New Bitcoin Lightning Wallet for Youth Plus, we end with the full live stream of the 'privacy edition' bitcoin++ developer conference, where Bitcoin privacy developers from projects like Cashu ecash, nonprofit grantmaker Brink, and private messaging app White Noise share in-development freedom tech and research that makes Bitcoin more private, scalable, and censorship-resistant. 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 →