Good morning, readers!
In Bolivia, 25% inflation has sent trust in the boliviano falling and pushed more individuals toward Bitcoin for daily transactions and savings. Since unbanning digital assets last year, Bolivia has seen the volume of digital payments soar fivefold to nearly $300 million in the first half of 2025. According to a report in Bloomberg, Bitcoin adoption is spreading from coffee shops to barbers to universities. Banks have for a while been capping dollar withdrawals, the market currency exchange rate doubles the official rate, and, for some, bitcoin is becoming everyday money.
In more alarming news, in Turkey, an Argentinian open-source software developer was allegedly detained in the city of Izmir, accused by Turkish officials of helping others тАЬmisuse Ethereum.тАЭ The case relates to his academic research on Ethereum privacy and Tornado Cash, a digital asset privacy tool, and reflects a broader trend of cross-border enforcement against privacy technology developers.
In freedom tech news, the newly launched Payjoin Foundation, announced at bitcoin++ in Riga, Latvia, will fund open-source development of the Payjoin protocol and broader Bitcoin privacy tools, giving dissidents and civil society groups safer ways to transact without exposing sensitive financial information to autocratic regimes.
And if you missed the тАЬPrivacy EditionтАЭ of the bitcoin++ developer conference, in part supported by the Human Rights Foundation, the full livestream is now available. It covers both days of talks, presentations, and debates from leading Bitcoin privacy developers on making transactions more private and censorship-resistant for those living under the surveillance of dictators.
Now, letтАЩs dive into the news.
Global News
Bolivia | Banks Limit Withdrawals as Digital Asset Usage and Inflation Climb
In Bolivia, where annual inflation has reached 25% and banks have been limiting withdrawal of US dollars to $100 a week, Bloomberg reports that Bolivians are turning to Bitcoin and digital assets as alternatives to the boliviano. тАЬIтАЩm not the only one using Bitcoin,тАЭ Christopher Salas, a coffee vendor in La Paz, said. тАЬThereтАЩs a barbershop over there and a gym that also accepts satoshis.тАЭ For Salas, Bitcoin is both a hedge and a protest: тАЬa way to preserve the value of my savings, but also a way to go against the system, against bureaucracy.тАЭ BoliviaтАЩs hybrid authoritarian regime lifted a decade-long ban on digital assets in 2024. Since then, the volume of digital asset payments has grown more than fivefold to nearly $300 million in the first half of 2025. The University of San Andres allegedly pays its international faculty in Bitcoin. Carlos Neira, co-founder of Colombian wallet provider Meru, reports a staggering 6,600% increase in Bolivian users since the ban was lifted.
Russia | Crackdown on Financial Dissent Expands to Digital Control
Russia is targeting ordinary citizens for their financial support of Alexei NavalnyтАЩs Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF). At least 76 criminal cases have been launched across 38 regions (more in the past six months than in the previous three years combined). The Kremlin is identifying donors through a unique merchant ID tied to payment processor Stripe, exposing individuals who donated to the ACF after it was deemed an тАЬextremist organizationтАЭ in 2021. Activists, teachers, and developers now face heavy fines in regional courts and even multi-year prison sentences. The targeting of donations coincides with a wider effort to tighten control over the Internet. A new Human Rights Watch report details RussiaтАЩs escalating digital repression: blocking independent outlets, throttling foreign platforms, criminalizing VPN use, and preparing to ban WhatsApp, used by 100 million Russians. Together, these moves are tightening state control over both money and information, making dissent harder to fund, coordinate, and even discuss.
Turkey | Detains Ethereum Developers
Argentinian Ethereum Core developer Federico Carrone was briefly detained in Izmir, Turkey, after the countryтАЩs interior minister accused him of helping others тАЬmisuse Ethereum.тАЭ Carrone says the case relates to his academic research on Ethereum privacy and Tornado Cash, a digital asset privacy tool. He denies any wrongdoing, emphasizing that his work was purely academic and did not facilitate illegal activity. The arrest comes amid a broader trend of cross-border enforcement against privacy technology developers. While Carrone has since left Turkey and is working with legal counsel, the incident underscores how research into privacy protocols can expose developers to legal jeopardy under authoritarian тАЬanti-money launderingтАЭ and тАЬcounter-terrorismтАЭ frameworks.
Morocco | Moves CBDC to Cross-Border Trials
Kazakhstan | Central Bank Launches Digital Asset Sandbox
KazakhstanтАЩs central bank opened a regulatory sandbox for testing digital asset projects, allowing companies to trial new fintech tools under state supervision before a legal framework is finalized. Early pilots include tenge-backed stablecoins, tokenized real estate and equity, commercial debt instruments, and regulated crypto-to-fiat exchange services. The initiative runs alongside the rollout of the digital tenge CBDC, created in collaboration with Visa and Mastercard. These programs are presented as innovations, but they also expand the authoritarian regimeтАЩs capacity to monitor transactions, freeze accounts, and seize the assets of dissidents. These are significant concerns in a country where officials have been criticized for curbing civil liberties and using financial systems to exert political control.
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How ZambiaтАЩs Cyber Laws Rebrand Repression by Wiriranai Brilliant Masara
In this article for the Journal of Democracy, HRF Tyranny Tracker Research Fellow Wiriranai Brilliant Masara explores how Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, once seen as a democratic reformer, enacted sweeping cyber laws that expand state surveillance, restrict online expression, and reintroduce criminal defamation. Masara details how these measures, passed under the guise of digital reform, threaten to reverse ZambiaтАЩs democratic progress ahead of the 2026 elections. Read the full article here.
Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News
Payjoin Foundation | Launches to Advance Bitcoin Privacy
Announced at the bitcoin++ privacy edition in Riga, Latvia, the Payjoin Foundation is a new nonprofit supporting free and open-source development of the Payjoin protocol and broader Bitcoin privacy tools. It will specifically support Payjoin developers, research, and development efforts. Payjoin enhances transaction privacy by allowing both sender and receiver to contribute inputs to a transaction, making it harder for dictators to surveil the blockchain and determine who paid whom. If Payjoin even reached even moderate adoption, it would render the common-input-ownership heuristic unreliable for authoritarian surveillance of bitcoin payments. This effect extends beyond direct users: Payjoin improves privacy for the entire Bitcoin network, even for those who never use it. The launch of this nonprofit is a step toward better protection of financial privacy.
Mi Primer Bitcoin | Releases AI Agent for Bitcoin Diploma
Mi Primer Bitcoin, a Central America-based Bitcoin education nonprofit, announced a new AI-powered agent designed to assist teachers and students undertaking their open-source Bitcoin Diploma program. The AI functions as a tutor, helping users navigate course materials, clarify concepts, and receive instant support. ItтАЩs free to use but still in development, so Mi Primer Bitcoin encourages testing and feedback. Mi Primer Bitcoin also released the Bitcoin Diploma in Indonesian Bahasa, further expanding its reach to 254 million speakers. By offering a free AI tutor for the Bitcoin Diploma, Mi Primer Bitcoin makes high-quality Bitcoin education more scalable and self-directed, even in places where authoritarian governments suppress financial literacy, limit internet resources, or censor independent learning materials.
Nostrpay | New Bitcoin Lightning Wallet for Youth
Nostrpay is an in-development, open-source Bitcoin Lightning wallet designed for kids that comes with parental controls and an educational interface to help families explore Bitcoin together. The wallet is built using Nostr Wallet Connect (a protocol for apps to connect with the Lightning Network). It allows parents to oversee usage while providing youth with hands-on experience with satoshis (the smallest unit of bitcoin). This tool can help normalize and teach self-custody, peer-to-peer transactions, and open-source technology to anyone, especially young activists. It also helps to lay the foundation for more financially free generations under authoritarian rulers. The wallet is currently pending review on the App Store. Learn more about it here.
Wallet of Satoshi | Implements Personalized Lightning Addresses on Spark
Wallet of Satoshi introduced personalized Lightning addresses that are custom and human-readable in the latest beta version of its new wallet powered by Spark. Wallet users can claim custom Lightning addresses while maintaining control over their funds thanks to SparkтАЩs recent integration of unilateral exit. This mechanism lets users withdraw their funds from Spark without permission. While still in beta, this means custom human-readable Lightning addresses for simple, repeatable donations and unilateral exit for self-custodial security. This reduces reliance on centralized payment rails and lowers the risk of surveillance, censorship, or asset seizure, making it a better tool for individuals and NGOs operating under authoritarian regimes.
Bitcoin Dada | Hosting Bitcoin Wallet Workshop
Bitcoin Dada, an HRF grantee and nonprofit supporting African women with Bitcoin education and financial freedom, will host hands-on Bitcoin Wallet Workshops on Aug. 30 in Uganda, Nigeria, and Kenya. The workshop will teach participants how to set up self-custodial wallets, use the Lightning Network, manage seed phrases, and explore local on/off-ramps. It can equip communities across these three regimes with the tools to securely use Bitcoin. The first workshop Bitcoin Dada announced will occur in Nairobi, Kenya, at The Promenade. Other venues and RSVP forms will be shared soon. Learn more here.
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bitcoin++ Developer Conference тАШPrivacy EditionтАЩ Livestream
If you missed the first-ever bitcoin++ Privacy Edition in Riga, Latvia, the full livestream recordings are now available to watch. The event included leading Bitcoin privacy developers from projects like Cashu ecash, nonprofit grantmaker Brink, and private messaging app White Noise. Over two days, speakers shared in development freedom tech and research to make Bitcoin more private, scalable, and censorship-resistant: critical advancements for human rights defenders and anyone transacting under surveillance. Watch Day 1 and Day 2 here.
