Good morning, friends!

Financial Freedom Report #106 is out.

This week, we examine how financial systems are being reshaped under pressure:

• China’s CBDC, where new features blur the line between central bank money and bank deposits.
• Yemen, as a major bank shutdown deepens an already severe humanitarian crisis.
• Iran, where new data shows economic survival topping people’s concerns amid protests and blackouts.

In Bitcoin & freedom tech:

• A new Bitcoin Core privacy upgrade for transaction broadcasting.
• Programming Lightning releases open-source Lightning education.
• Electrum adds submarine payments, bridging on-chain and Lightning.

Plus, a new HRF x Pubkey Freedom Tech Series episode with Harrison Friedes and Block engineer Alex Hancock on vibe coding and building under surveillance.

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Good morning, friends!

This week's Financial Freedom Report #105 is published and features the following in global news:

-Nigeria | Tax Law Ties Digital Asset Transactions to National ID
-Iran | Freedom Tech Surges Amid Historic Protests
-India | Proposes Linking Authoritarian CBDC Infrastructure

In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News:

-Hack4Freedom | New Freedom Tech Tools Built
-Bitchat | New Update as App Clone Circulates in Iran
-Fedi | Community Generator Tool Launched

We end with a new episode of The Network State Podcast, where HRF’s Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein sits down with Balaji Srinivasan to explain how Bitcoin serves as a financial escape hatch.

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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:

https://hrf.org/program/financial-freedom/finney-prize/about-andreas-antonopoulos/

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!

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Good morning!

Financial Freedom Report #101 is live and features the following in global news:

-India | NPCI Confirms CBDC is Live With Spending Controls
-Russia | New Tax Hike Deepens Financial Pressure on Households and Small Businesses
-Tunisia | Top Human Rights Advocate Arrested Amid Financial Repression of Civil Society

In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News:

-DMND Pool | Full Public Launch
-BULL Wallet | New Update Brings Blockstream Jade Support and Greater Privacy
-bitcoin++ | Open Source Edition Announced in Kenya

We include an episode of What Bitcoin Did, where Bitcoin educator Ben Perrin (BTC Sessions) explains what secure Bitcoin self-custody looks like.

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Good morning, friends!

Today, we celebrate 100 editions of HRF's Financial Freedom Report.

What started as an effort to track how authoritarian regimes use money as a tool of repression has evolved into THE weekly newsletter covering the global state of financial freedom.

From frozen bank accounts, currency collapse, and CBDCs to resisting with Bitcoin and freedom tech, we are grateful to all our readers who have joined us on this journey.

Onward to the next 100!

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Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

This week's Financial Freedom Report #99 was just published and features the following in global news:

-Belarus | Law Enforcement Empowered to Block Financial Transactions
-Tunisia | Financial Repression of Human Rights Organizations
-United Arab Emirates | New Law Passed to Regulate Self-Custody Tools

In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News:

-Blue Wallet | Lightning Network Support Added via Arkade
-Bitcoin | Home Miner Finds Solo Block
-BULL Wallet | Support for Krux Added

We end with a narrated edition of Alex Gladstein’s Journal of Democracy essay “Why Bitcoin is Freedom Money,” where Guy Swann guides listeners through how financial repression has become a core tool of modern authoritarianism and why Bitcoin is emerging as a lifeline for those targeted.

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Good evening, friends!

This week's Financial Freedom Report #98 is live and features the following in global news:

-Indonesia | Government Plans Rupiah Redenomination Bill
-Tanzania | Bitcoin Becomes a Bridge During Internet Blackout
-United Arab Emirates | First CBDC Transaction Completed

In #Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News:

-BULL Wallet | SeedSigner Support Added
-Lightning Dev Kit | Splicing and Asynchronous Payments Added
-Breez | Spark Supports Privacy Mode and Nostr Zaps

We end with the latest installment of the HRF x PubKey Freedom Tech Series, where HRF’s Femi Longe and Christian Keroles explain how the Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF) helps sustain the global builders creating the permissionless and privacy-preserving tools on which dissidents increasingly depend.

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Today we unveil the Finney Freedom Prize statue designed by the artist cryptograffiti.

Here is a short video from the artist himself featuring the statue, the meaning, and the style:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S1w9DkYFpo

HRF is a proud supporter of free and open source Nostr development and we are happy to be here!