HRF's Bitcoin Development Fund is awarding more than 500 million satoshis to 16 Bitcoin and freedom tech projects worldwide.

This round supports Bitcoin and Nostr development, self-custody, censorship-resistant communications, merchant and mobile payments integration, decentralized mining, research, and education.

Read our press release to learn more about the projects working to strengthen the Bitcoin protocol and expand access to secure tools for dissidents around the world.

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Good morning, friends!

This week’s AI for Individual Rights Newsletter #13 is out!

In China, an unsecured police database revealed how facial recognition and personal data can be combined to monitor foreigners.

Meanwhile, Meta committed to developing AI that empowers individuals and released a new open-weight model that individuals anywhere, in any country, under any government, can download and run privately.

We end with a tutorial from freedom tech educator, Sovereign Sessions, that shows beginners how to use LM Studio, an application for running AI models locally on their own computers.

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Good morning, friends!

This week's Financial Freedom Report #133 is here and covers Russia's official designation of HRF as an "undesirable" organization, suggesting HRF’s work is having a major impact on one of the world’s largest dictatorships.

In Bitcoin news, we cover the Red Team's response to the coldcard incident, in which a community-led effort is identifying critical vulnerabilities in Bitcoin-related software.

We end with the latest HRF x PubKey Freedom Tech Series, featuring a conversation between Russian dissident Anna Chekhovich and Finite engineer Alex Lewin.

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Good morning, friends!

Financial Freedom Report #124 is here and covers an alarming attempt by the Kenyan government to sell datasets it collects from public service portals like eCitizen.

In Bitcoin news, we highlight developments of a new layer-two called Cube, an attempt to expand the capabilities of Bitcoin without changing core operational realities.

We also feature this year’s Freedom Tech track at the 2026 Oslo Freedom Forum, where dissidents, technologists, and human rights defenders explored how Bitcoin, Nostr, Bitchat, and open-source AI can help people communicate, transact, and resist authoritarian repression.

Enjoy the report.

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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: https://hrf.org/latest/bitcoin-for-nonprofits-a-guide-to-help-your-movement-achieve-financial-freedom/

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.

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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.

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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.

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NEW: The Finney Freedom Prize for the 2012-2016 era goes to Pieter Wuille and Gregory Maxwell for their contributions to Bitcoin usability, scalability, and privacy.

For more info on the Prize, Hal’s story, the committee, and future prizes, visit http://finneyprize.org

Good morning, and welcome to HRF on nostr. We are thrilled to be here!

Each week, we'll circulate our weekly newsletter, the Financial Freedom Report, to help you stay informed about the latest news on financial repression around the world. We’ll also highlight the latest developments in the Bitcoin space. You won’t want to miss it.

Read our latest newsletter here: https://hrf.org/topic/financial-freedom/

Subscribe to the Financial Freedom Report here: http://financialfreedomreport.org/