Blog Post Jun 12, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #76 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.
Blog Post May 22, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #75 Today, we begin in China, where the central bank injected $138 billion into the economy and expanded the money supply by 12.5% year-over-year.
Blog Post Apr 24, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #71 In Georgia, mere weeks after freezing the bank accounts of five NGOs supporting pro-democracy movements, the ruling Georgian Dream party passed a new law banning foreign organizations from providing grants to local groups without regime approval.
Blog Post Apr 2, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom #68 Georgian officials froze the bank accounts of five nonprofit organizations that provide financial and legal support to detained protesters.
Blog Post Mar 20, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #66 In Thailand, the government announced a third digital cash handout to “stimulate the economy and drive technological adoption.”
Blog Post Mar 13, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #65 In Iran, lawmakers impeached the economy minister, Abdolnaser Hemmati, following the Iranian rial’s rapid collapse, with the currency plunging to 1 million per dollar.
Blog Post Mar 6, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #64 In Nicaragua, the regime is increasingly cracking down on civil society, imposing new financial regulations on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that require them to disclose donors and report all financial transactions — further restricting their ability to operate independently.
Blog Post Feb 27, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #63 In Nigeria, financial officials are revising digital asset regulations to impose taxes on digital asset transactions on regulated exchanges.
Blog Post Feb 20, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #62 This week, we honor the loss of the late Alexei Navalny, whose bravery inspired millions of Russians to stand up against Vladimir Putin’s financial, political, and social repression.
Blog Post Feb 13, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #61 This week, we highlight how authoritarian regimes are manipulating digital assets. The Central African Republic launched a government-backed meme coin that crashed spectacularly within a day of launch as regime insiders cashed out for profits, leaving the public with worthless tokens.
Blog Post Feb 6, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #60 In India, the central bank has taken a significant step toward launching its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital rupee. In partnership with fintech firms Mobikwik and Cred, the digital rupee is now available to 180 million users through a new “e₹ wallet,” a CBDC wallet app designed for public use.
Blog Post Jan 23, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #58 In Iran, officials are accused of exploiting a recent currency devaluation to profit at the public’s expense.
Blog Post Nov 28, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #51 In Turkey, through years of double-digit inflation, the state has eroded the value of the country’s largest banknote, the 200-lira bill, whose purchasing power has plummeted from $140 in 2010 to just $5.80 today.
Blog Post Oct 31, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #47 In Nigeria, the state anti-corruption agency dropped money laundering charges against Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance employee detained by the regime since February.
Blog Post Sep 12, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #40 This week, Bitcoin took center stage in Venezuela’s struggle for financial freedom. After the Maduro regime brazenly stole the country’s presidential election, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado spoke in an exclusive interview with the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), where she called Bitcoin a “lifeline” and a “vital means for resistance” for Venezuelans suffering under repression and hyperinflation.
Blog Post Aug 8, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #35 In Nigeria, widespread discontent with President Bola Tinubu’s financially repressive policies sparked nationwide protests. Security forces descended on citizens peacefully protesting against the devaluation of the naira and soaring inflation, which has reached a 30-year high in a country where 40% of the population already suffers under extreme poverty.
Blog Post Aug 1, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #34 In Venezuela — recently home to one of the most catastrophic episodes of hyperinflation in history — dictator Nicolás Maduro fraudulently claimed victory in the country’s presidential election.
Blog Post Jul 25, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #33 Across the world this week, authoritarian regimes predictably continue leveraging centralized technologies and top-down policies to tighten their grip on power. In Russia, Vladimir Putin pushes for harsh regulations on Bitcoin mining, citing fears of potential power outages.
Blog Post Jul 19, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #32 This week, authoritarian regimes intensified financial controls in response to global cost of living pressures. In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele initiated investigations into supermarkets allegedly hiking the prices of basic goods.
Blog Post Jul 11, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #31 This week, financial policies impacting personal freedoms worldwide take center stage. In Russia, imprisoned opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza was transferred to a prison hospital, while officials issued an arrest warrant for Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Alexei Navalny and new chair of the Human Rights Foundation, for being part of an “extremist group.”
