Good morning, readers!
This week, we begin in Kenya, where police detained Rose Njeri, a software developer and mother of two, for building a website that enables Kenyans to flag causes and email parliament concerning an unpopular tax bill that threatens to raise the cost of living in an already inflation-sticky economy. Due to the holiday court calendar, Njeri remains behind bars awaiting criminal prosecution for what officials claim interfered with government systems, but was really a peaceful resistance to unfavorable economic policy.
To a similar tune, in Venezuela, law enforcement stormed the home of Guillermo Goncalves, co-founder of El Dorado, a peer-to-peer trading app used by Venezuelans to exchange rapidly depreciating bolivares for stablecoins (digital tokens pegged to fiat currency like the US dollar). The El Dorado app filled a gap in VenezuelaтАЩs collapsing economy: offering a market-based exchange rate for bolivars and access to more stable currencies.
In freedom tech news, Breez, a company building on the Lightning Network, added support for BOLT 12 and BIP 353 to its Nodeless Software Development Kit (SDK). This will enable wallets powered by the Breez Nodeless SDK to implement these features. BIP 353 makes it easier for activists and NGOs with an Internet domain to receive Bitcoin donations. And BOLT 12 brings greater privacy and efficiency to BitcoinтАЩs Lightning Network.
We end with an interview with Hong Kong dissident Nathan Law, who turned to Bitcoin to stay active in his push for freedom and democracy in the wake of ChinaтАЩs authoritarian crackdown.
Now, letтАЩs take a closer look.
Global News
Kenya | Criminal Prosecution of Software Developer
In Nairobi, Kenya, law enforcement raided the home of software developer Rose Njeri and took her into custody. Her alleged crime: building a platform that lets Kenyans review and email their elected representatives concerning an unpopular tax bill threatening to raise their cost of living. On May 30, 15 officers stormed her home without a warrant, seized her devices, and detained her incommunicado for more than 88 hours. Officials claim her web tool, which auto-generated feedback emails to Kenyan parliament, illegally interfered with government systems. Outside the police station, many Kenyans gathered in protest, demanding her immediate release. Last year, a similar finance bill triggered mass demonstrations and a brutal crackdown that left dozens dead. NjeriтАЩs arrest shows the growing risks civic technologists face and depicts the growing trend of using state power to suppress peaceful pushback to unfavorable economic policy.
Venezuela | National Police Raid Home of El Dorado Founder
VenezuelaтАЩs National Police stormed the home of Guillermo Goncalves, co-founder of El Dorado, a peer-to-peer trading app used by Venezuelans to exchange rapidly depreciating bolivares for stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC). The platform filled a critical gap: offering market-based pricing for bolivares and access to more stable currency. Nonetheless, the regime accuses Goncalves of fueling currency speculation, pointing to past comments where Goncalves highlighted the disconnect between the тАЬofficialтАЭ exchange rate of the bolivar, as set by the Central Bank of Venezuela, and the parallel market rate. The arrests of those publishing truthful economic data and providing alternatives to 162% inflation under the guise of тАЬstabilityтАЭ are hallmarks of a dictatorship that destroyed its currency and is now hunting down those trying to survive outside its system.
Tanzania | Blocks Access to X and Telegram Amid Financial, Political, and Media Repression
Tanzania restricted access to X and Telegram across major Internet providers following a hack of the Tanzanian police forceтАЩs official account. The platforms remain offline more than three weeks later in the lead-up to OctoberтАЩs presidential and parliamentary elections. The timing of the shutdown also coincides with the kidnapping of Ugandan journalist, lawyer, and Oslo Freedom Forum speaker Agather Atuhaire, who says she was tortured and sexually assaulted while in Tanzanian custody before being left at the border between Tanzania and Uganda. Recently, the government also banned the use of foreign currency in daily transactions, forcing citizens to rely on the weakening Tanzanian shilling. And in April, the opposition CHADEMA party was disqualified from participating in the October elections under the pretense of treason against party leader Tundu Lissu. The censorship of online platforms, suppression of opposition and dissidents, and laws banning foreign currency all signal a coordinated strategy to silence criticism and strip Tanzanians of both their political voice and financial autonomy.
Russia | Proposes Relocating Bitcoin Miners
RussiaтАЩs energy ministry is considering relocating Bitcoin miners to northern regions, where old energy infrastructure sits idle and the state can keep a closer eye. The plan comes months after the Kremlin banned mining across ten southern regions (including Dagestan and Chechnya), citing fears over energy shortages. But the ban has chiefly targeted individual and small-scale miners, not state-aligned corporations. Many independent miners, especially in poorer regions, used Bitcoin to escape financial isolation. Now, theyтАЩre being squeezed out in favor of top-down regulations. As the Kremlin tightens its grip on domestic energy and economic activity, itтАЩs clear that the regime sees Bitcoin not as a tool for freedom but as something to be contained, regulated, and surveilled.
Israel | Freezes Bank Account of NGO Providing Aid in Palestine
Physicians for Human Rights Israel, a nonprofit providing medical aid in the West Bank and Gaza, has revealed that its bank accounts were frozen at the beginning of the year. The nonprofit, which previously ran regular medical missions in Palestine, says it was first blocked from making transactions, then warned by its bank, and finally notified in January that its account would be closed. These banking restrictions are not isolated. According to Lee Caspie, the deputy director of physicians for Human Rights Israel, other Israeli nonprofits providing aid to Palestinians receive similar financial treatment. Caspie shared that a new bill advancing would also impose an 80% tax on foreign grants to Israeli charities, with an exemption for those deemed acceptable by the government. These measures threaten to worsen a humanitarian crisis by leaving civil society organizations providing crucial support and services in Palestine financially cut off.
Hungary | Postpones Law That Would Ban Foreign-Funded Organizations
In a small win for civil society in Hungary, Viktor Orb├бnтАЩs ruling Fidesz party postponed a vote on a sweeping bill that would grant the Orb├бn regime power to monitor, penalize, and potentially shut down any organization receiving foreign funds. Framed as protecting тАЬsovereignty,тАЭ the proposal closely mirrors RussiaтАЩs foreign agent law and has been widely condemned as a death blow to HungaryтАЩs independent institutions, media, and dissidents. While officials now say they need more time to тАЬdebate the means,тАЭ critics warn the delay is a tactical move, not a change of heart. The bill casts an intentionally wide net, branding foreign-backed efforts to defend press freedom and LGBTQ+ rights as threats to national identity and political discourse. тАЬIts aim is to silence all critical voices and eliminate what remains of Hungarian democracy once and for all,тАЭ according to a joint statement signed by more than 300 civil society and media organizations.
Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News
Breez | Adds BOLT 12 and BIP 353 Support to Nodeless SDK
Breez, a company helping build out the Bitcoin Lightning economy, released support for BOLT 12 and BIP 353, enabling wallets using the Breez Nodeless SDK (such as Misty Breez and Klever) to implement these features. BOLT 12 is a critical update to the Lightning Network that brings increased privacy and greater censorship resistance to Bitcoin transactions for those facing financial repression. It also introduces reusable payment requests for recurring payments (such as tips and donations to human rights defenders). BIP 353 enables individuals and organizations with access to a domain the ability to create static, human-readable payment addresses (such as user@domain) for Bitcoin payments. With this integration, NGOs or activists with an internet domain and wallet using the Breez SDK can receive uncensorable donations through their domain in an accessible way. Implementing these new Bitcoin features will provide users with greater financial freedom and autonomy under authoritarian regimes.
BTCNutServer | Accept Ecash Payments with BTCPay Server
A new experimental plugin called BTCNutServer is attempting to bring ecash payments to BTCPay Server. The idea is to allow users to accept Cashu ecash tokens alongside Bitcoin using BTCPay ServerтАЩs self-custodial and self-hosted infrastructure. Ecash specifically is a digital money system backed by Bitcoin and designed to offer instant, low-cost, and very private transactions. For activists and dissidents, ecash enables bitcoin payments without compromising financial privacy. But users must trust mints (entities that manage and issue ecash tokens) to custody their funds. Though still in early development, BTCNutServer could enable charities, nonprofits, and merchants in repressive countries to accept ecash through BTCPay Server and, in doing so, keep their financial activity hidden from state surveillance.
Private Pond | New Experimental Payjoin System
Private Pond is a new experimental project that builds upon the Payjoin protocol to improve both the privacy and efficiency of Bitcoin transactions. Payjoin works by mixing inputs of a bitcoin payment with inputs from the recipient, making it harder for outside observers to trace who paid whom. Private Pond takes this concept further: it is an application designed to optimize Bitcoin transaction rails (such as a platformтАЩs deposits and withdrawals). It uses transaction batching to bundle many deposits and withdrawals into a single transaction, using incoming deposits to fund outgoing withdrawals. While itтАЩs not production-ready, if Private Pond were implemented in other applications, it could lower fees, create stronger privacy, and expose fewer funds. Innovations like this help strengthen BitcoinтАЩs original purpose: a financial network that resists censorship and surveillance while staying efficient and scalable.
Chorus.Community | New Social App for Activists
Chorus.Community is a new social app introduced at the 2025 Oslo Freedom Forum that is designed for people who operate under surveillance or censorship. Developed on permissionless technologies like Bitcoin and Nostr, Chorus allows users to share updates, send voice notes, organize groups, and raise funds, all without needing an email, phone number, or approval from any central authority. Unlike traditional platforms, Chorus cannot easily be blocked or shut down. Future updates will include encrypted messaging and group features, further enhancing security. For activists, journalists, and organizers working in closed societies, Chorus offers a new way to stay connected, coordinate, and support one another. Human rights defenders can try it here.
Bitcoin Policy Institute | Upcoming Bitcoin Policy Summit
The Bitcoin Policy Institute will be hosting its third annual Bitcoin Policy Summit from June 25-26 in Washington, DC, bringing together lawmakers, academics, and advocates to help shape and understand the future of Bitcoin policy in the US. A highlight of the event will be HRFтАЩs chief strategy officer, Alex GladsteinтАЩs keynote, тАЬBitcoin is the Most Powerful Human Rights Tool of the 21st Century,тАЭ which will explain BitcoinтАЩs growing role in resisting authoritarianism and protecting civil liberties worldwide. Learn more about the event here.
HRF | Gifts 800 Million Satoshis to 22 Freedom Projects Worldwide
HRF gifted 800 million satoshis in its Q2 2025 round of Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF) grants, supporting 22 open-source freedom projects worldwide. These projects advance Bitcoin education, open-source software, mining decentralization, and privacy tools for activists contending with authoritarian regimes and dictatorships across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Supporting censorship-resistant financial tools and permissionless technologies like Bitcoin, Nostr, ecash, Tor, VPNs, and more empowers dissidents, journalists, and civil society to organize, transact, communicate, and speak without state suppression, interference, or manipulation. Learn more about the grantees and their work here. This round of grants also marks the 5-year anniversary of the Bitcoin Development Fund! Watch our anniversary announcement video to celebrate this milestone with us.
OpenSats | Announces 11th Wave of Bitcoin Grants
OpenSats, a public nonprofit funding free and open-source software, announced its 11th wave of grants advancing the Bitcoin protocol as a tool for financial freedom. Among the projects, Mostro and Payjoin stand out for their importance to dissidents and anyone seeking greater financial sovereignty. Mostro is a peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange protocol built on nostr, allowing users to trade Bitcoin directly without relying on centralized intermediaries that can be surveilled, censored, or shut down. Meanwhile, Payjoin enhances Bitcoin transaction privacy by breaking common heuristics used to trace payments, making it harder for authoritarian surveillance tools to identify payees and the amount transacted. Together, these tools give people living under repressive regimes more private, resilient ways to save and transact.
Recommended Content
Nathan Law on Hong KongтАЩs Fight for Freedom, Bitcoin, and Lessons for the West with Ben Perrin
In this interview with Bitcoin educator Ben Perrin (BTC Sessions), exiled Hong Kong activist Nathan Law reveals how Bitcoin became a critical tool for resisting financial blacklisting under ChinaтАЩs authoritarian crackdown. With a $140,000 bounty on his head and no access to traditional banking, Law turned to Bitcoin to stay active in his push for freedom and democracy. Watch the full conversation here.
