Welcome back to the Financial Freedom Report.
This week, two stories involving the centralized cryptocurrency exchange Binance reveal how financial intermediaries can compromise both user funds and privacy.
Last Thursday, state-sponsored hackers from North Korea stole $6.3 billion from the exchange in the largest cryptocurrency theft in history. Binance has pledged to cover customers’ losses, and managed to coordinate a freeze of nearly half the stolen digital assets with the help of stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle. The attack highlights the vulnerabilities of centralized custody and offers a rare glimpse of the speed and scale at which stablecoin issuers can immobilize billions in funds.
Meanwhile, in Russia, an IT specialist faces 13 years in prison for donating roughly $700 in digital assets to Ukraine after Binance shared his transaction records with Russian investigators. Russian officials used that information as evidence against him in his prosecution, illustrating a separate but not unrelated risk posed by financial intermediaries.
We end with a timely reflection from Btrust CEO and Bitcoin developer Abubakar Nur Khalil, who addresses the wave of recent Bitcoin security breaches and asks how Bitcoin self-custody can improve security, accountability, and user protection without sacrificing financial independence.
Now, let’s explore this thread in detail.
Global News
North Korea
$6.3 Billion Stolen from Binance in Record Heist
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has suffered a $6.3 billion security breach, the largest cryptocurrency theft in history. The FBI identified the perpetrators as North Korea’s TraderTraitor hacking group, the same group responsible for the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in 2025. North Korea — now linked to the two largest cryptocurrency heists in history — offers a striking example of how a modern dictatorship might acquire funds. The U.S. government has linked North Korea’s crypto thefts to funding its weapons programs and evading sanctions, while North Koreans are heavily restricted from using Bitcoin themselves. Among the stolen assets were 18,270 bitcoin (worth $1.48 billion), approximately 200,630 Ethereum (worth $450 million), and more than $3.4 billion in major stablecoins. Binance has pledged to cover all customer losses, and withdrawals resumed Nov. 1, with the exchange saying it had enough set aside in the stolen currencies to cover 95% of the losses.
In context: Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic also reported that $2.85 billion, or roughly 44% of the stolen assets, had been frozen or seized by Nov. 1. How? Unlike Bitcoin, major stablecoins such as USDT and USDC are issued by companies that can freeze assets. Stablecoins accounted for 94% of the frozen cryptocurrency, as issuers Tether and Circle worked with Binance to track and stop the hackers from moving the funds. Although this capability can help contain a major theft, it can also be used to freeze funds belonging to people who donate to political opposition movements, support independent journalism, or challenge authoritarian regimes. And as the following case from Russia illustrates, freezing funds is just one way financial intermediaries can compromise users’ financial freedom.
Russia
Man Sentenced to 13 Years After Binance Reveals Ukraine Donations
A Russian court sentenced 49-year-old IT specialist Yuri Belenkiy to 13 years’ imprisonment for donating roughly $700 in digital assets to Ukrainian military fundraising campaigns. Belenkiy was convicted of financing terrorism after cryptocurrency exchange Binance handed his transaction history to Russian investigators, providing key evidence used to prosecute him. Binance disclosed Belenkiy’s transaction records in 2025 despite having exited Russia in 2023. Crypto regulation lawyer Mike Bystrov told Reuters that Binance was “under no obligation to provide Belenkiy’s data” and may even have been prohibited from doing so under EU data protection laws because of Belenkiy’s Bulgarian residency status. Belenkiy was arrested during a visit to Moscow in September 2025.
In context: Belenkiy used the tools available to him to make donations to causes he believed in. But using digital assets does not guarantee financial privacy, particularly when transactions pass through centralized exchanges like Binance or Coinbase. To use these platforms, users must submit extensive personal data, and from there, every transaction, purchase, and withdrawal is recorded. As this case shows, this data can be used against you years later. Belenkiy joins dozens of other Russians who have faced similar prosecutions for digital asset donations they made in the past.
Egypt
Journalists Face Terrorism Charges Over Alleged Foreign Funding
Egyptian officials have charged six journalists from the independent fact-checking outlet Matsadaash with terrorism-related offenses, accusing them of receiving foreign funds to spread “false news” and undermine state institutions. The six, who make up the outlet’s entire newsroom, were arrested in late September. Prosecutors pointed to monthly payments in foreign currency from a company registered abroad as evidence of wrongdoing. Hossam Bahgat, whose Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights represents the journalists, said the payments were regular salaries. The journalists have also reported torture in custody, which the Interior Ministry denies.
Why this matters: Egypt’s authoritarian regime is using ordinary foreign payments as grounds for criminal suspicion. Treating salaries received from abroad as potential evidence of terrorism allows officials to intimidate and threaten civil society. It also reinforces self-censorship, as those who would speak out are discouraged from doing so.
Serbia
Student-Led Movement Ends Vučić’s 12-Year Grip on Power
Serbia’s authoritarian-leaning government, led by Aleksandar Vučić, conceded to a student-led movement in a historic snap parliamentary election. Final results gave the Student List 140 seats in the 250-seat parliament, ending Vučić’s political dominance since 2014. The victory follows nearly two years of mass protests, sparked by the deaths of 16 people in a railway station collapse in Novi Sad in 2024. As Serbian activist and CANVAS director Srđa Popović wrote in the Journal of Democracy, “Protest still works — but only when you couple enthusiasm with strategy, mobilization with organization, social media with boots on the ground.” Popović helped lead the movement that toppled Slobodan Milošević in 2000.
In context: The student movement began with demands for accountability over suspected corruption in a publicly funded railway project. In 2025, prosecutors alleged that inflated construction invoices had cost Serbian taxpayers more than $115 million. What began as outrage over the misuse of public money grew into a nationwide movement demanding transparency, accountability, and an end to more than a decade of increasingly authoritarian rule.
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Cuba is, again, drumming up opposition to the U.S. Embargo. It’s all based on lies By Roberto González
In an op-ed for the Miami Herald, HRF Chief Advocacy Officer Roberto González challenges the Cuban regime’s longstanding claim that the US embargo is primarily responsible for the island’s economic crisis. While acknowledging the embargo’s economic costs, González argues that decades of centralized financial planning, restricted private enterprise, and a lack of political accountability have played a much larger role. Read why here.
Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News
bitcoin++
New Security Alert System Launched
bitcoin++, a Bitcoin developer conference series, launched Bitcoin++ Alerts, a platform to help users stay informed about critical security updates to Bitcoin and freedom tech software. The service tracks software releases, security vulnerabilities, and other developments that could affect the tools people rely on. Up to three projects can be monitored for free, with a paid subscription available for additional coverage.
Why this matters: For individuals and organizations relying on freedom money to protect savings, receive donations, or make payments, staying informed about software changes is an important part of maintaining security. This is especially true in the ongoing wake of AI-related software attacks in and around the Bitcoin ecosystem, as the next story illustrates.
BTCPay Server
Warns of Vulnerability Draining Bitcoin Wallets
On Nov. 1, BTCPay Server, an open-source Bitcoin payment processor used by merchants and nonprofits, warned that attackers were draining funds from hot wallets hosted by or connected to BTCPay Server. The team initially advised operators to shut down their servers while investigating the thefts. On Nov. 2, developers identified an attack vector affecting installations running version 2.4.1 or older. No credible reports of thefts have emerged from the latest release, version 2.4.7. The team has not yet disclosed the technical details of the vulnerability or the total amount stolen. Learn more about the details as they develop here.
Lightning Labs
Brings Wavelength to Bitcoin Mainnet
Lightning Labs, a company building on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, has opened access to Wavelength, its implementation of the Ark protocol, to everyone on Bitcoin mainnet. Wavelength lets developers integrate Ark-based Bitcoin and Lightning payments into applications without running a Lightning node, managing payment channels, or sourcing liquidity. It also supports AI agents through a built-in interface that lets them manage payments, interact with paid APIs, and receive earnings within the permissions their users set. Funds are self-custodial and can be withdrawn to the Bitcoin blockchain without the operator’s permission. However, because Wavelength is built on Ark, it still relies on a service operator for routine payments and requires periodic renewal of funds. It is also still in alpha, meaning users should avoid storing significant funds until the software has been tested more thoroughly.
Why this matters: AI agents can increasingly research, write code, and carry out complex tasks independently. Wavelength gives them another capability: the ability to earn and spend bitcoin autonomously — paying for data, computing resources, and services from other agents without bank accounts, credit cards, or human approval for every transaction. This opens the door to AI agents operating more independently on open financial infrastructure.
My First Bitcoin
Redesigned Bitcoin Diploma Released
Global Bitcoin education nonprofit My First Bitcoin has released a redesigned version of its free, open-source Bitcoin Diploma. The redesigned curriculum is shorter and more practical, and has a new modular design that gives educators greater flexibility in how they teach their communities about Bitcoin. It covers the fundamentals of money, how Bitcoin works, self-custody, and ways to use open-source money in everyday life to achieve financial freedom. Making Bitcoin education more accessible and adaptable to local communities helps equip more people with the knowledge and skills to use freedom money independently. Explore the new curriculum here.
Librería de Satoshi
Rebrands and Expands Education Initiative to Freedom Tech
Librería de Satoshi, an HRF grantee and Latin American Bitcoin education initiative, has rebranded as ISMOS, expanding on its mission to train the next generation of open-source developers. Since 2021, the initiative has educated more than 3,665 people across 40 countries and financially supported 30 open-source developers. Originally focused on Bitcoin education for Spanish speakers, ISMOS is expanding education into AI, cryptography, cybersecurity, Nostr, and other freedom technologies. The organization aims to train 1 million developers worldwide, helping more people build technologies that protect privacy, financial freedom, and autonomy against authoritarianism.
Bitcoin Recommended Content
What $500M+ in Bitcoin Hacks Teach Us About the Future of Self-Custody by Abubakar Nur Khalil
In a Forbes op-ed, Bitcoin Core Developer and Btrust CEO Abubakar Nur Khalil examines the recent wave of Bitcoin security breaches — including attacks on Coldcard, Ledger, and the Liquid Network — and what they reveal about the future of Bitcoin self-custody. While self-custody gives individuals greater financial sovereignty, it also places more responsibility and risk on them when something goes wrong. Khalil argues that the industry must develop stronger security practices, accountability, and recovery mechanisms, especially as AI accelerates the discovery and exploitation of vulnerabilities. In light of the recent Binance hack, this article is more timely than ever. Read it here.
