The Financial Freedom Report is a newsletter focusing on the role currency
and banking play in the civil liberties and human rights struggles of those
living under authoritarian regimes. We also spotlight new tools and
applications that can help individuals protect their financial freedom.
Good morning, readers!
In Zimbabwe, the regime’s new ZiG currency is rapidly losing value, depreciating by up to 80% on the parallel market as citizens lose confidence in the state’s latest monetary experiment. Despite government interventions — including creating artificial scarcity, freezing bank accounts, and arresting currency traders — Zimbabwe is on the brink of yet another currency failure.
Meanwhile, governments worldwide are increasingly exploring central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as a way to gain greater control over financial systems. According to Reuters, 134 countries — representing 98% of the global economy — are now considering CBDCs, which offer regimes unprecedented power to monitor transactions, block payments, and freeze accounts.
In a positive step for financial privacy, Dana Wallet released its native Silent Payments Bitcoin wallet on Android, a promising tool for those receiving donations and seeking to protect their financial transactions from surveillance. Additionally, Wasabi Wallet made CoinJoins — a privacy technique that combines multiple transactions to enhance anonymity — completely free by exclusively supporting coordinators who do not charge a fee. These innovations provide activists and nonprofits with greater privacy in their financial activities.
We conclude with the latest installment of the HRF x Pubkey Freedom Tech Series, featuring HRF’s director of communications, Elisha Maldonado, interviewing author and journalist Roger Huang about the clash between open source technology and state surveillance in China. This episode offers valuable insights into China’s repressive tactics and Bitcoin’s role in preserving financial freedom.
Now, let’s jump right in!
Zimbabwe | New ZiG Currency Fails to Maintain Value
Since its launch in April, Zimbabwe’s gold-backed currency, the ZiG, lost 80% of its value on the parallel market (where real-world demand sets exchange rates, often diverging significantly from regime-imposed rates). Though the regime set the ZiG at 13.6 ZiG per dollar, street rates are as high as 26 ZiG per dollar. “The ZiG has been getting weaker, so it does not make business sense to transact with it,” a local street vendor said. To stabilize the ZiG, the regime injected $64 million into foreign exchange markets, arrested currency changers, froze bank accounts, and restricted access to the currency. Despite this, the ZiG’s value continues to slide. Meanwhile, Zimbabweans like Thabo Ncub believe the repeated currency woes “have opened the door for Bitcoin adoption in Zimbabwe, and that no person and no institution will be able to stop it.”
Tunisia | Economic Challenges Grip Citizens as Saied Crushes Competition
Tunisians are caught in a crushing cycle of soaring prices, job losses, growing debt, and deepening poverty as President Kais Saied consolidates power. To sustain his regime, Saied is borrowing heavily from the once-independent central bank, driving inflation higher and pushing Tunisians to the brink of financial ruin. With the Oct. 6 presidential elections approaching, Saied eliminated all electoral opposition, turning the election into a farce. In a blatant show of control, his hand-picked electoral commission defied a court order to reinstate three “disqualified” opposition candidates. Now, the regime has sentenced one of the two remaining candidates, Ayachi Zammel, to 20 months in prison, leaving only Saied’s ally, Zouhair Maghzaoui, on the ballot. Through sustained financial hardship and the purging of all opposition, Saied is pushing Tunisians into a future of economic repression.
Iran | Physical and Financial Repression of Women Intensifies
The Iranian regime is intensifying its repression of women and girls after the murder of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman arrested for non-compliance with Iran’s mandatory hijab laws. Two years ago, her killing sparked nationwide protests, to which the regime responded with increased surveillance (through artificial intelligence and drones), violence, and even death sentences for women activists, as reported by the United Nations. Beyond physical repression, the regime uses financial control — imposing fines and restricting access to education, jobs, and travel — against women who defy hijab regulations. These financial penalties deepen women’s dependence on the state, preventing them from fully participating in the economy and stripping them of fundamental rights.
World | Central Bank Digital Currency Momentum Grows
According to Reuters, 134 countries worldwide — representing 98% of the global economy — are now exploring central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The uptake is “part of a global push by authorities to respond to declining cash usage and the threat to their money-printing powers from the likes of Bitcoin,” Reuters notes. The fastest-growing bank-to-bank CBDC, called mBridge, connects CBDCs from China, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia. Unsurprisingly, dictators favor CBDCs for the unparalleled control they offer over citizens’ finances. CBDCs can enable regimes to monitor every transaction, block payments, and freeze accounts at will, turning money into a powerful tool of repression. These trends are being mapped in real time by HRF’s CBDC Tracker.
Belarus | Citizens Abroad Face New Intimidation and Threats
Belarusians who fled the country to escape Alexander Lukashenko’s repression are now facing intimidation and threats abroad. Belarusian officials are surveilling and accusing the Belarusian diaspora of “organizing mass unrest” and targeting them with international arrest warrants and direct threats. In addition, the regime is invalidating identity documents and forcing citizens to return to Belarus for passport renewals, where they face arrest and prosecution upon arrival. To counter this, the opposition established “people’s embassies” in 24 countries to protect Belarusians abroad. Lukashenko quickly labeled these “extremist groups,” threatening those using them with seven years in prison and asset confiscation. Lukashenko, fearing another uprising like the 2020 protests — where Bitcoin helped demonstrators bypass the regime’s financial chokehold — continues its transnational repression to secure his re-election and crush international opposition.
Dana Wallet | Native Silent Payments Wallet
Dana Wallet, a native Silent Payments Bitcoin wallet, launched its first public release on Android. Silent Payments is a static address protocol for Bitcoin that allows transaction senders to generate unique addresses from a receiver’s static public key. By leveraging this protocol, Dana Wallet enables users to receive Bitcoin donations with greater privacy and without revealing sensitive transaction information. This layer of security can be lifesaving, especially when receiving funds from sensitive sources can lead to harassment, imprisonment, or worse. While Dana Wallet is functional on the main Bitcoin network, they advise users to only use it on test networks (where software releases are tested for reliability and bugs before going live) during the early stages of its release. You can test the wallet here.
Wasabi Wallet | Implements Taproot Receive Addresses and Free Coordinators
Wasabi Wallet, a non-custodial, privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet, introduced new features that make transactions more affordable and private. The update adds support for Taproot Receive Addresses, which reduce spending fees by 16% and speed up transaction verification. Wasabi also made CoinJoins — an important privacy technique that combines multiple transactions to enhance anonymity — free by exclusively supporting coordinators (entities that facilitate CoinJoins transactions) who do not charge a fee. These updates contribute to Wasabi’s focus on providing a privacy-centric platform for Bitcoin transactions, useful for activists and citizens living under heightened surveillance. You can view the full changelog here.
BOLT 12 | Merged into Lightning Specification
BOLT 12, an upgrade to the Lightning Network that introduces increased receiver privacy, greater censorship resistance, and reusable payment requests for recurring payments, is officially merged into the Lightning Specification. This marks a significant advancement for the Lightning Network and represents the first new BOLT to be added to Lightning’s official repository since 2017. “Currently, three implementations support it: core-lightning, LDK, and eclair/phoenix,” notes Bitcoin developer and educator Lisa Neigut. This integration enhances Lightning’s versatility and positions it to support a broader range of use cases, like donations, further advancing Bitcoin’s payment infrastructure and positioning it as a powerful tool for activists and nonprofits globally.
Unchained Capital | Launches Bitcoin Donor-Advised Funds
Unchained Capital, a leader in Bitcoin financial services, launched Bitcoin donor-advised funds (DAFs), a powerful charitable tool. DAFs enable you to donate Bitcoin, receive an immediate tax deduction, and decide how and when to distribute your donation funds over time. This flexibility lets you, for example, support Bitcoin development and nonprofits while optimizing your financial impact. Some DAFs use multisignature setups (a security measure that requires multiple keys to access funds), enhancing security and transparency, and setting new standards for managing Bitcoin donations.
OpenSats | Announces Seventh Wave of Nostr Grants
OpenSats, a public nonprofit funding free and open-source software and projects, announced its seventh round of Nostr grants. Notable grants include futr, a decentralized Nostr client that focuses on private and secure messaging and offers a native app experience across multiple platforms. Additionally, White Noise, a secure messaging client that provides encrypted group and direct messaging for enhanced privacy. HRF is proud to support OpenSats in funding tools that empower free speech and human rights defenders seeking privacy.
Maelstrom | Awards First Bitcoin Developer Grant
Maelstrom, a decentralized technology fund, awarded the first grant from its Bitcoin Grant Program to emerging Bitcoin core developer Rkrux. This funding will enable Rkrux to transition from part-time contributor to full-time contributor on Bitcoin Core, the critical software underpinning the Bitcoin network. “One of the goals of the grant program is to recognize and reward emerging talent contributing to Bitcoin Core development,” Arthur Hayes, Maelstrom’s CIO, said. Hayes hopes this grant will inspire more developers to commit fully to strengthening Bitcoin’s infrastructure and advancing its long-term resilience.
Recommended Content
HRF x Pubkey — Bitcoin Behind the Great Firewall of China with Roger Huang
In the latest episode of the HRF x Pubkey Freedom Tech Series, HRF’s director of communications, Elisha Maldonado, speaks with author and journalist Roger Huang about the clash between open-source technology and China’s surveillance and censorship practices. Huang explains how China’s Internet firewall enables the Chinese regime to suppress dissent more effectively and warns that the country’s new central bank digital currency (CBDC) will further increase financial surveillance and control. He also highlights how citizens are turning to Bitcoin to protect their assets from government interference. This is a conversation well worth listening to.
How Bitcoin Can Offer A Path To Safety For Domestic Abuse Survivors By Farida Nabourema
In an article for Forbes, Togolese human rights and democracy activist Farida Bemba Nabourema explores how Bitcoin can serve as a lifeline for domestic abuse survivors, especially those under financial control by their abusers. Nabourema explains that financial abuse traps victims in cycles of dependency by limiting access to money, work, and essential resources. She explains that Bitcoin offers a discreet way for women to save and manage their funds independently, free from surveillance and confiscation. Training survivors in secure Bitcoin use can empower them with financial independence and a path to freedom. Read the full article here.
Webinar Series: How to Use Bitcoin for NGOs
HRF will host a three-day long webinar designed specifically to teach human rights defenders and nonprofit organizations how to integrate Bitcoin into their work to challenge state censorship and confiscation. From Nov. 4-6, 10:30 EDT to 12:00 EDT daily, participants will learn what Bitcoin is, how it counters financial repression, how to make payments, and how to maintain financial privacy under surveillant regimes. If you’re an activist or a nonprofit organization, we invite you to apply here.
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