Good morning, readers!
As Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro tightens his grip on power, he has restricted access to Binance, the world’s largest Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange. For many Venezuelans, Binance was a helpful lifeline offering peer-to-peer access to USD, Bitcoin, and stablecoins. Now, many are left increasingly trapped with the crumbling bolívar. This move also comes alongside a broader effort to silence critics, which included blocking the social media platform X and detaining more than 2,000 individuals protesting against the stolen election.
In Nigeria, political activist James Otudor filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian regime to defend the public’s right to own, use, and trade Bitcoin. Otudor argues the regime’s restrictions on Bitcoin violate the human rights of the Nigerian people. If successful, his case would mark a historic moment in the struggle against financial repression that plagues 218 million Nigerians today.
On the technology front, Proton introduced new anti-censorship features for its Proton VPN service, including the ability to disguise the app and a “Stealth” mode to hide VPN usage. These updates could be helpful for human rights defenders looking to maintain secure and private internet usage in surveillance environments. Meanwhile, Speed launched USDT-L, a stablecoin on the Lightning Network that leverages the Taproot Assets protocol. By combining stablecoins with the speed of the Lightning Network, this could be another valuable tool for activists seeking financial stability in unstable economies.
We end with an article published this week by Alex Gladstein, HRF’s chief strategy officer, in Reason Magazine, profiling the growth of the nostr communications protocol and its potential to reshape online interactions, especially for human rights activists. Finally, we ask for your help to get topics like Central Bank Digital Currencies and Nostr onto the radar of SXSW participants by voting in our panel picker.
Now, let’s dive right in!
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.
Venezuela | Restricts Access to Binance and Blocks X Amid Post-Election Upheaval
Venezuelans are now struggling to access Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. “Like several company websites in different segments in Venezuela, including social media, Binance’s pages have been facing access restrictions,” Binance announced. Binance is a peer-to-peer exchange popular with Venezuelans in search of US dollars, stablecoins, and Bitcoin to escape the regime’s ongoing devaluation of the bolívar. With Binance now inaccessible, many find themselves financially trapped and increasingly vulnerable in a country where 82% live in poverty and 53% live in extreme poverty. Alongside censoring Binance, Maduro has blocked access to social media platform X for 10 days, revoked passports arbitrarily, and detained over 2,000 activists, lawyers, opposition figures, and civilians protesting the fraudulent election results. If you’d like to support nonviolent dissidents opposing Venezuela’s dictatorship, consider donating dollars or bitcoin to HRF’s Venezuela Solidarity Fund here.
Nigeria | Activist Sues Regime for the Right to Own, Acquire, and Trade Bitcoin
James Otudor, a Nigerian politician and activist, launched a legal case to defend Nigerians’ rights to own, use, and trade Bitcoin. Otudor is challenging key government and regulatory bodies, including the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission, for imposing restrictions to access digital assets. “Bitcoin and other digital assets are vital tools for protecting savings from inflation and enabling international transactions, particularly in light of naira devaluation and foreign exchange shortages,” he argues. The lawsuit, represented by human rights lawyer Maurice Oru Ebam, demands the immediate reversal of the Bitcoin ban, a declaration of these restrictions as unconstitutional, and a call for the regulation of Bitcoin as a commodity. If successful, this case could fundamentally reshape the Bitcoin landscape in Nigeria and establish Bitcoin as a critical human right for those living under the country’s authoritarian regime.
China | Censors Criticisms of its Digital ID System
The Chinese regime is pushing for a nationwide digital ID system that would be administered by cyber regulators and the police. Though framed as a way to protect data and privacy from tech giants, this system would “give authorities a more direct and comprehensive window into people’s digital lives,” tech analyst Catherine Thorbecke in Bloomberg said. If linked with China’s central bank digital currency, the Digital Yuan, this digital ID system could become a powerful tool for financially penalizing citizens’ based on online activities. Authorities could, for example, decide to freeze money, limit spending, or apply expiry dates to dissenting individuals. Naturally, the proposal sparked criticism. But those speaking out face censorship. One such example is prominent criminal law professor Lao Dongyan, whose Weibo account was muted for 90 days after criticizing the digital ID system.
Kyrgyzstan | Plans to Launch CBDC by 2027
Kyrgyzstan is moving forward with plans to launch its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital som, by 2027. For now, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic is amending laws and seeking vendors to develop the necessary digital platform. It is also defining the “roles and responsibilities of each participant, access conditions, and the types of transactions permitted.” This would suggest the potential for hyperpersonalized banking services, which is concerning. Human rights concerns have grown since President Sadyr Japarov won a snap election in 2021. Under his rule, pressure on civil society has increased, as have legal actions against journalists and media outlets. Foreign human rights workers remain banned from the country, where domestic abuse, violence against women, and police brutality against LGBTQ+ individuals are prevalent. Given this context, the digital som could be exploited by Japarov’s regime, turning a tool of alleged financial innovation into an instrument of repression.
Russia | Blocks Signal Messaging App
Russia’s state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, blocked access to the Signal messaging app. The regime claimed that Signal did not comply with national laws designed to prevent its use for terrorist activities. It’s not surprising this is the case, as Signal’s end-to-end encryption makes it difficult for Vladimir Putin’s regime to monitor or intercept messages. This comes as part of a broader crackdown that includes restrictions on YouTube, X, and Instagram, as well as intensified financial repression tactics. The regime closely monitors activists’ transactions, freezes their bank accounts, and censors financial activities. What’s becoming apparent is that dictators like Vladimir Putin and Nicolás Maduro are using similar strategies — simultaneously suppressing the freedom to speak and the freedom to transact — in order to maintain absolute power.
If you’re a nonprofit or activist looking for uncensorable financial tools, we encourage you to sign up for our upcoming Financial Freedom Webinar from Nov. 4-6, which is being led by HRF’s nonprofit Bitcoin adoption lead and veteran Russian human rights activist Anna Chekhovich.
Speed | Introduces New Stablecoin on Lightning Network
Speed, a Bitcoin Lightning payment processor and the creators of Speed Wallet, launched USDT-L — a new stablecoin (or a digital currency pegged to the US dollar) on the Lightning Network. It is a wrapped Tether (USDT) stablecoin that leverages the Taproot Assets protocol. This means a Tether digital dollar can be transacted on the Bitcoin Lightning Network instead of networks like Ethereum. According to Speed, USDT-L offers users lower fees, faster transactions, greater privacy, and improved reliability compared to USDT on networks like Ethereum, Tron, or Solana. Lightning also promises some privacy improvements over these networks, especially if used in a non-KYC setting. By combining the stability of stablecoins with the speed and efficiency of the Lightning network, USDT-L could become an interesting solution for activists looking for financial stability in unstable economies.
Voltz | Launches Custodial Lightning Network and eCash Wallet
Voltz is a new custodial Lightning Network wallet that allows users to manage on-chain Bitcoin transactions, Lightning payments, and eCash all in one place. To do this, it leverages Cashu, an open-source Chaumian eCash protocol for privately trading Bitcoin-backed eCash. Voltz also operates a BTC and USD Cashu Mint (a mint is a server or entity that issues and manages eCash tokens within the Cashu system), reducing over-reliance on existing mints. While the wallet is custodial, using eCash alongside Bitcoin and Lightning payments can help users protect their financial privacy and avoid financial censorship. Learn more about the Voltz wallet here.
Proton VPN | New Anti-Censorship Features
Proton, the company behind privacy tools like Proton Mail and Proton Wallet, introduced new anti-censorship features for its Proton VPN service. One feature, a “discreet icon” in Android phones, lets users disguise the Proton VPN app as something harmless (like a weather or calculator app). Another feature, called “Stealth,” helps users hide their VPN usage, making it “almost impossible to detect,” according to Proton. In addition to these new features, Proton has expanded to 12 new countries, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, and Yemen. While dictators frequently block access to digital asset platforms (as seen in Venezuela or Nigeria this past week), VPNs can help bypass these restrictions. This is a welcome development from Proton, which has also provided free privacy services to Venezuelans and added a Bitcoin wallet in recent weeks.
New BIP Draft | FROST Signing for BIP340-Compatible Threshold Signatures
A new draft Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) titled “FROST signing for BIP340-compatible Threshold Signatures” introduces a standard for the Flexible Round-Optimized Schnorr Threshold (FROST) signing protocol. Proposed by Bitcoin developer Sivaram Dhakshinamoorthy, this standard allows a group of signers in a FROST setup to sign transactions in a way that makes it appear as if only one person signed it. This helps keep the details of who and how many people were involved in a transaction private. The FROST protocol also allows a signing group to change its members without moving any funds, making it useful for multisignature setups where the signers may change over time. This flexibility could be valuable for activists who need to adapt their security measures as circumstances change. You can learn more about this proposal in the project’s GitHub Repository.
OpenSats | Announces 6th Wave of Nostr Grants
OpenSats, a public nonprofit that funds free and open-source projects, announced its 6th round of grants. These grants focus on advancing decentralization and privacy within the Nostr ecosystem, equipping activists, journalists, and the general population with censorship-resistant communications tools. Among the nine funded projects is Osty, an open-source framework for building web applications on Nostr. Another recipient is Corny Chat, a decentralized audio spaces platform integrated with nostr that offers privacy-focused and supports Lightning payments. As dictators intensify their attacks on free speech, it’s encouraging to see continued support for the development of Nostr. To learn more about the other grants, visit the OpenSats website here.
OP_Next | Upcoming Technical Bitcoin Conference
The OP_Next conference, happening on Nov. 9, will bring together Bitcoin developers, builders, and founders to explore new Bitcoin proposals and scaling solutions. Hosted at Fidelity’s Center for Applied Technology in Bost, MA., the event aims to foster a collaborative environment with a strong emphasis on hands-on workshops. The conference hopes to push the development of Bitcoin’s open-source protocol through expert-led sessions and networking opportunities. For more details on tickets and the agenda, visit OP_Next’s website here.
Recommended Content
Can Nostr Make Twitter’s Dreams Come True? by Alex Gladstein
In Alex Gladstein’s latest essay for Reason Magazine, he writes about Nostr, an open, ownerless social network that offers an alternative to the centralized control of platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Nostr empowers users to control their data, algorithms, and identities without depending on corporate ownership. Unlike traditional social media, which is vulnerable to government pressure and censorship, Nostr’s decentralized nature resists such interference. It has various clients and applications ranging from social media to long-form publishing and payments. It also integrates with Bitcoin through “zaps,” small payments or tips users can send directly with others. For example, imagine you’re a journalist sharing accurate and reliable information. Your readers can reward you with bitcoin tips. This powerful new protocol gives human rights defenders, nonprofit organizations, and civil society groups uncensorable speech and money. If you’re interested in an online future where people have power over their identities and data, this is an essay worth reading.
Vote to Get Nostr and CBDC Panels at SXSW
Each year, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) brings democracy and human rights to the forefront of discussions at South by Southwest (SXSW), the world’s largest creative conference in Austin, Texas. HRF remains committed to promoting freedom, reaching new audiences, and bringing people together to join our common cause: defeating tyranny. With your votes, HRF will again bring human rights and freedom tech to the world’s attention. This year, HRF has six sessions up for consideration, including a panel on “The Nostr Revolution” and “The Human Rights Risk of Central Bank Digital Currencies.” Read about HRF’s sessions below and create a Panel Picker account to vote for them today! Community voting is open until Sunday, Aug. 18.
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.
Want to contribute to the newsletter? Submit tips, stories, news, and ideas by emailing [email protected].
The Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF) is accepting grant proposals on an ongoing basis. The Bitcoin Development Fund is looking to support Bitcoin developers, community builders, and educators. Submit proposals here.
