Newsletter May 3, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #22 This week news centered around the harassment of press freedom defenders through financial de-platforming. In Somalia, the regime froze the bank accounts of the Somali Journalist Syndicate (SJS).
Newsletter Apr 28, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #21 Last week, on halving day, the Human Rights Foundation launched the Finney Freedom Prize to honor the legacy of Hal Finney and inspire others to follow in his footsteps. As the world becomes increasingly digital, the fight for electronic privacy and cash becomes more and more important.
Publication Apr 26, 2024 How to Dictator-Proof Your Money Human-rights activists around the world have a new tool: unstoppable electronic cash.
Announcement Apr 19, 2024 HRF Launches the Finney Freedom Prize On this fourth halving day, April 19, 2024, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is proud to announce the launch of the Finney Freedom Prize, an award designed in Hal Finney’s memory to celebrate global achievements in the area of Bitcoin and human rights.
Newsletter Apr 18, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #20 Depending on your time zone, Bitcoin’s fourth halving will take place tomorrow or Saturday at block height of 840,000. Here’s a great 101 from Andreas Antonopolous on the basics of the halving, why it is important, and what he expects to happen as a result of Bitcoin issuance being cut in half.
Newsletter Apr 13, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #19 After five failed currencies in the last ten years, Zimbabwe is launching yet another currency. This time, one ostensibly backed by foreign reserves and precious metals. Observers, however, remain skeptical, questioning whether the regime will provide sufficient reserves to back up the new currency.
Newsletter Apr 8, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #18 This week’s news is led by the headline that SWIFT — the global messaging system for banks — is developing a central bank digital currency platform to facilitate the interoperability of CBDCs across the globe, most of which are being issued by authoritarian governments.
Announcement Apr 8, 2024 HRF Announces CISA Research Fellowship The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is pleased to announce the launch of the CISA Research Fellowship.
Announcement Mar 28, 2024 HRF Launches Webinar to Help Nonprofits Integrate Bitcoin The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is delighted to announce a free quarterly webinar to teach nonprofits, particularly human rights organizations, how to integrate Bitcoin into their work to challenge state censorship and confiscation.
Newsletter Mar 28, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #17 In Hong Kong, lawmakers have passed a new national security law aimed at suppressing dissent among citizens. Meanwhile, the ruling Indian government has frozen the bank accounts of the Indian National Congress, the largest political opposition group in the country, further raising concerns over the erosion of freedom and democracy.
Newsletter Mar 21, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #16 We’re thrilled to announce that this week HRF granted $500,000 to 14 projects worldwide as part of its Bitcoin Development Fund.
Publication Mar 17, 2024 Empowering Human Rights Through Bitcoin And Open Source Software To many, bitcoin is simply a deflationary store of value, an investment, or a “digital gold.”
Newsletter Mar 14, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #15 This past week, BRICS — an intergovernmental organization led by the Russian and Chinese dictatorships — explored the development of an independent payment system that aims to use digital currencies and potentially central bank digital currencies.
Newsletter Mar 7, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #14 This week’s news focuses on the growing interest in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) from governments. Turkey concluded its initial research phase, while Ghana revealed ambitious plans to launch its own CBDC.
Newsletter Feb 29, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #13 This week, we witnessed a rise in state-level censorship in finance and communications. Honduran regulators banned the country’s financial institutions from trading in cryptocurrency; Nigerian officials restricted access to global cryptocurrency exchanges in a desperate attempt to stabilize its currency, the Naira; and Pakistan blocked access to the X platform for eight days straight amid political unrest.
Newsletter Feb 23, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #12 Over the last week, we mourned the murder of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny by Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Newsletter Feb 16, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #11 In the past week, we’ve seen Kosovo’s ban on the Serbian currency, a cross-border CBDC transaction between regimes in the United Arab Emirates and China, Bitcoin claim all-time highs against a variety of different fiat currencies, and a long-awaited breakthrough in the Lightning Network that promises to significantly boost user privacy.
Newsletter Feb 8, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #10 This week we continue to witness Chinese citizens using creative new methods to use bitcoin, Burmese citizens suffering from a post-coup economic crisis, and severe currency devaluation in Nigeria and Egypt, the largest countries in Africa and in the Arab world.
Blog Post Feb 1, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #9 This past week, Egyptians were told to put up with soaring inflation, while we saw Kazakhstan’s financial suppression of journalists and Pakistan’s continued rise in Bitcoin adoption.