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!
Last week, HRF hosted the second annual Global Bitcoin Summit, bringing together more than 125 human rights defenders, Bitcoin developers, social entrepreneurs, and UI/UX designers from more than 60 countries at the beautiful Bitcoin Park in Nashville, Tenn. Dissidents shared powerful stories about life under dictatorships, showcasing how Bitcoin has become a crucial tool in their struggle. The Summit inspired and motivated attendees to create new initiatives and software developments to support the push for financial freedom worldwide. We encourage you to watch our short recap video here.
Meanwhile, in Russia, Vladimir Putin’s regime is pushing the rollout of the digital ruble, a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is on track to be released in July 2025. This, of course, comes amid low public awareness of the risks inherent to state-controlled digital currencies. And in Lebanon, regional conflict and widespread corruption worsen an already devastating economic crisis, leaving citizens in a cycle of financial despair.
In open-source software news, Bitcoin Core v28.0 was released, introducing critical updates to the security and decentralization of Bitcoin’s predominant software implementation. Key changes include support for a new test network and patching a critical node vulnerability. At the same time, JAM, an application that lets people more easily use JoinMarket, got an upgrade, giving users the ability to freeze, unfreeze, and review unspent transactions. Who is Satoshi? We don’t know today (despite recent speculation by an HBO documentary), but their invention is more powerful than ever.
We close with an article by HRF research fellow Luciana Fortuna examining Nayib Bukele’s presidency in El Salvador. She explores the trade-offs made to restore order in the country. While Bukele’s Territorial Control Plan has achieved short-term successes, concerns are mounting over its long-term effects on democracy. If you’re looking for a thoughtful analysis of Bukele’s leadership, this article is a good read.
Now, let’s dive right in!
Russia | CBDC Rollout, Journalists Charged, & Criminal Defendants on the Front Line
Bank of Russia governor, Elvira Nabiullina, confirmed the digital ruble, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), is on track for a mass rollout by July 2025. Major banks will be required to support CBDC transfers and payments. Merchants earning 30 million rubles ($320,000) will be obliged to accept it. Despite these mandates, public awareness remains low, underscoring the urgency for CBDC education surrounding the risks to civil liberties. Simply put, a CBDC threatens to further consolidate the Putin regime’s watchful eye and control over the economy, stamping out whatever liberties citizens have left in private-sector banking. As Russia prepares for this digital shift, the regime’s control over other areas of society tightens. Four journalists were charged with “extremism” for supporting opposition leader Alexei Navalny. At the same time, Vladimir Putin signed a new law granting criminal defendants immunity if they join the army (this includes those under investigation, awaiting trial, or held in pretrial detention centers).
Lebanon | Regional Conflict Deepens Economic Crisis
Lebanon, already devastated by the 2019 financial collapse, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2020 Beirut explosion, faces a spiraling economic crisis as conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates. Since October 2023, Hezbollah has reportedly fired more than eight thousand rockets toward Israel. Recent Israeli airstrikes have destroyed critical infrastructure, polluted farmland, disrupted supply chains, displaced 1.2 million people, and killed more than 2,000. Now, tens of thousands of domestic workers, primarily women from repressive regimes like Egypt, Sudan, and Sri Lanka, are being abandoned by their employers. Without legal papers, they fear seeking humanitarian aid due to the risk of being arrested or deported. Tens of thousands of people have even been freed to flee to Syria, where they face the tyranny of the Assad regime.
Hong Kong | Plans to Install Thousands of Surveillance Cameras
Hong Kong officials plan to install thousands of surveillance cameras, raising concerns about the city’s growing alignment with mainland China’s surveillance practices. While officials argue the cameras are necessary to combat crime, critics rightly fear they could be misused for political repression, especially with their integration with facial recognition and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. By enhancing the ability to track individuals through facial recognition and AI, authorities could more easily identify and target activists, dissidents, or anyone perceived as a threat. This pervasive surveillance could be weaponized to freeze assets, monitor transactions, enforce financial penalties, and suppress financial freedom. Experts warn that without clear regulations, this increased surveillance could erode personal freedoms and push Hong Kong toward resembling mainland China’s authoritarian model even more.
Freedom of the Press | Assange Makes First Public Remarks Since Prison Release
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange made his first public remarks since his prison release in June following a deal with the United States. Speaking before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Assange declared, “I am not free today because the system worked. I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism.” He warned that criminalizing newsgathering threatens journalism and reveals the “weaknesses of existing safeguards,” which negatively impact human rights. Assange also recalled how governments pressured banks to block WikiLeaks’ accounts and subscriptions without due process, demonstrating how states weaponize financial systems to silence whistleblowers, even beyond their borders. There are 5.7 billion people today who live under authoritarian regimes, without financial and political freedom, and the Assange case is a good reminder that individuals need to stay vigilant to keep freedom alive even in democratic societies.
Global Authoritarianism | Squashing Protests Against Austerity
The Economist notes that corrupt autocrats are facing backlash in countries like Kenya, Bangladesh, and Pakistan as they try to push IMF reforms onto the populations. These reforms — which include cutting government spending, raising taxes, increasing the cost of essentials (like food and fuel), and privatizing state assets — are carried out in an undemocratic manner and have triggered widespread protests. In Kenya, for example, President William Ruto faced mass protests after introducing spending cuts tied to a $3 billion IMF bailout. In Bangladesh, inflation spiked after IMF-driven currency reforms, while in Pakistan, protests erupted as a result of painful austerity measures and the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. For millions of financially struggling citizens, undemocratic reforms like these often worsen daily hardships.
Bitcoin Core | Version 28.0 Now Available
Bitcoin Core is the main implementation of the Bitcoin software, defining the protocol and acting as a standard for the network. It is the most widely used Bitcoin client and includes everything needed to participate in the Bitcoin network (from transacting to verifying transactions). Regular updates are crucial to maintaining its stability and security for millions of users. The recent release of Bitcoin Core v28.0 introduces several key updates, including support for Testnet4, a testing environment that allows software developers to experiment with new applications and features before launching them on the main Bitcoin network. This release also increases the number of peer connections to improve decentralization and network resilience, while patching a bug that affected one in six Bitcoin nodes (computers that validate Bitcoin transactions and blocks). Additionally, Full Replace-By-Fee (RBF) is enabled by default, allowing users to increase their transaction fee after broadcast to confirm a transaction faster. Upgrading to this version is important for improved security and performance, and you can do so here. For more insights into Bitcoin Core v28.0, listen to this podcast episode with Bitcoin Core Maintainer Gloria Zhao and Bitcoin Core developer Fabian Jahr.
Nunchuk | Introduces Decoy Wallets
Nunchuk, a Bitcoin wallet, introduced a Decoy Wallet feature to enhance users’ security in their mobile app. A Decoy Wallet holds a small amount of bitcoin and can be shown in a threatening environment, allowing users to reveal minimal funds without exposing their main bitcoin holdings. The feature uses separate PINs: a Security PIN for access to the main Bitcoin wallet and a decoy PIN for the Decoy Wallet. This provides plausible deniability, making the Decoy Wallet look authentic while protecting the user’s real funds. This is a much needed development, especially for activists in high-risk environments where security is a top priority. Check out Nunchuk’s blog post here for more details on setting up a Decoy Wallet.
JAM | Freeze, Unfreeze, and Review UTXOs
JAM is a web interface for JoinMarket, a privacy-focused application that enables Coinjoin transactions on the Bitcoin network. For those new to Bitcoin, CoinJoin combines multiple Bitcoin payments into one transaction, making it much harder for outside observers to track or analyze individual movements of funds. For activists in authoritarian regimes, CoinJoin helps break the link between Bitcoin addresses, making it difficult for dictators to trace their financial activity across the Bitcoin network. Last week, JAM released version 0.3.0, introducing an interesting new feature: the ability to freeze, unfreeze, and review unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs), which are amounts of Bitcoin you have received but not yet spent, before sending a Bitcoin transaction. This provides users with more control and privacy when managing their Bitcoin. Although JAM is designed to be user-friendly, it’s still a new tool, so caution is advised.
Ocean | Launches New Decentralized Mining Protocol
Ocean, a Bitcoin mining pool company, launched Decentralized Alternative Templates for Universal Mining (DATUM), a new protocol that gives miners more control over block creation. Bitcoin mining is the process where new bitcoin are created and transactions are validated and added to the blockchain. For Bitcoin mining to stay secure and resistant to censorship, it must remain decentralized — meaning it shouldn’t be concentrated in the hands of a few entities or mining pools. DATUM lets miners use their own Bitcoin nodes to create block templates, therefore reducing their reliance on large mining pools or entities that could be pressured into censoring transactions at the hands of authoritarian rule. This could help ensure Bitcoin remains a secure and open financial tool for activists, dissidents, and anyone fighting for freedom. While yet to be proven, DATUM is taking a positive step toward making mining more decentralized while preserving Bitcoin’s core principles.
Ark | Latest Release Brings Security and Efficiency Enhancements
Ark, a layer 2 Bitcoin protocol for faster payments, released version 0.3.0, bringing improvements in security, efficiency, and user-friendliness. Ark moves payments off the main Bitcoin blockchain, helping Bitcoin handle more transactions efficiently. The update adds a new way to sign transactions, reducing the need for trust between users and servers. It also simplifies the setup process and improves offline payment options. This may be helpful for activists with unreliable internet connections or who are on the go. Currently, users need to download the Ark Wallet Command Line Interface (CLI) to send and receive payments via their computer’s terminal; however, this may be too technical for beginners. Mobile and web apps are being developed to make Ark more accessible for all.
OpenSats | Announces Education Grants and Long-Term Support for Jon Atack
OpenSats, a nonprofit that funds free and open-source projects, announced its latest round of education grants. The grant will support projects like Bitcoin Jungle in Costa Rica and Bitcoin Indonesia, which focus on teaching communities about Bitcoin and promoting financial freedom. Other grants will also support BOBSpaces and Africa Free Routing, which provide technical education to open-source developers working on Bitcoin and Lightning projects in Southeast Asia and Africa. Additionally, OpenSats will provide long-term support for Jon Atack, a Bitcoin Core developer and Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) maintainer, to ensure his continued full-time work on this critical software.
Global Bitcoin Summit: Recap Video
Last week, HRF hosted the second annual Global Bitcoin Summit from Oct. 2-4 at the Bitcoin Park campus in Nashville, Tenn. The event brought together more than 125 participants — including human rights activists, software developers, social entrepreneurs, and UI/UX designers — from more than 60 countries. Together, they shared knowledge and experiences about Bitcoin use on the ground. Human rights defenders shared powerful stories about financial repression under authoritarian rule. They explained how Bitcoin has become a vital tool in their struggle for freedom, inspiring everyone to find new ways to support activists’ efforts worldwide. We encourage you to watch our short recap video here.
El Salvador: The False Tradeoffs Between Security and Democracy by Luciana Fortuna
In this article, HRF research fellow Luciana Fortuna analyzes Nayib Bukele’s presidency in El Salvador, focusing on the trade-offs made to restore order. Bukele’s Territorial Control Plan, aimed at reducing gang violence and enhancing security, led to a sharp decline in crime and improved community safety. However, she points out that these achievements have come at a steep price. Bukele has weakened judicial independence, expanded emergency powers, and removed constitutional limits on re-election, ultimately weakening the country’s democracy. While his adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender fostered greater financial inclusion, Fortuna warns that the erosion of democratic safeguards may threaten El Salvador’s long-term stability. 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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