HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #48

India | Regulators Mull Bitcoin Ban While Pushing CBDC

India’s regulators are inching closer to banning Bitcoin as they push forward with their central bank a digital currency (CBDC), the Digital Rupee. Officials argue that the Digital Rupee can perform the same functions as Bitcoin and other digital assets but with “fewer risks” to citizens. India’s government is now in consultation with financial bodies and has hinted that a formal policy paper is forthcoming, likely cementing the Digital Rupee as the nation’s sole digital currency. The move toward permissioned rather than permissionless money raises concerns for citizens’ financial freedom. While Bitcoin is open and censorship-resistant, the Digital Rupee would place control and visibility over all transactions under the purview of government authority, allowing real-time tracking and restrictions on individual financial activity.

Russia | State Banks Begin Offering Mortgages in Occupied Ukraine Territory

In a calculated attempt to cement power over Ukraine, Russia’s state-owned VTB Bank launched a preferential mortgage program in Luhansk and Donetsk to attract Russian citizens into relocating to these Ukrainian regions. VTB is offering low-interest mortgages (2%) with modest down payments to entice new buyers. This policy makes homeownership more attainable in Ukraine than in Russia itself (where mortgage rates reach 22%) — a clear attempt by the regime to use financial incentives to shift local demographics and reinforce its control over Ukrainian land. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not stop there, either. Preferential mortgages will soon be offered in the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia “once housing construction begins there.” By providing favorable loans in occupied Ukrainian territories, Russia exploits financial control to legitimize and reinforce its hold on land that legally remains a part of Ukraine.

Turkey | New Foreign Agents Law Threatens Civil Society

Turkey’s lower level of parliament approved a draft “foreign agents” law that poses serious risks to civil society by expanding state control over NGOs, activists, and journalists. The law would allow Turkish officials to label organizations and individuals as “foreign agents” if their work is deemed contrary to “state interests.” This broad and ambiguous term grants sweeping powers to target those critical of the government. One does not need to look further than authoritarian regimes like Russia, which enacted similar foreign agent laws in the past, to understand the repercussions of the law. Under the purview of this legislation, human rights groups and other organizations receiving international funding or engaging in activism would face heightened risks of surveillance, prosecution, and closure, leaving independent media, dissent, and activism severely curbed.

BIS | Departs CBDC Project “mBridge”

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has stepped away from Project mBridge, a global central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform between the central banks of China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Project mBridge aims to improve cross-border transactions using CBDCs backed by national banks. BIS’s departure from the project comes amid rising concerns that the countries running it could abuse the platform. Considering the involvement of authoritarian regimes, it is questionable why the BIS was involved in the first place, given the growing recognition of the threats CBDCs pose to financial freedom and democracy. With the departure of the BIS, mBridge remains in the hands of China, which will lead the project’s technological development.

Nigeria | Citizens Turn to Bitcoin as Naira Loses Footing 

Nigeria’s naira currency has lost 43% of its value against the dollar this year alone, driving more Nigerians toward alternatives like Bitcoin and stablecoins, which are proving a practical solution to sidestep naira volatility and access US dollars. Despite reforms hailed by President Bola Tinubu, including letting the market set the naira’s exchange rate, the currency continues to plummet while access to dollars dwindles. To entice foreign currency back into the Nigerian economy, Tinubu is now offering a nine-month grace period for citizens holding dollars outside the country to bring them back into Nigeria without legal repercussions or financial penalties. Bitcoin adoption continues to grow in this country and the surrounding region. HRF is proud to support “BitDevs” events in cities like Abuja, which help people come together to discuss technical Bitcoin topics and learn how they can contribute to the software project.

Bangladesh | Sheikh Hasina Regime Siphoned Billions from Nation’s Banks

Bangladesh’s new central bank governor, Ahsan Mansur, is accusing business tycoons linked to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government of conspiring with the country’s military intelligence agency to siphon $17 billion from the nation’s banks. According to Mansur, officials facilitated forced takeovers of major banks in Bangladesh and thereafter granted themselves massive loans and inflated import invoices. “This is the biggest, highest robbing of banks by any international standards,” Mansur said. Hasina, who served as prime minister for two decades, fled to India in August following a public revolt, leaving the country under the interim leadership of Muhammad Yunus. This debacle offers a sobering view of how corrupt regimes exploit the fiat system to steal billions.