Blog Post Jan 11, 2025 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #56 Welcome to 2025! As the year begins, authoritarian regimes have swiftly escalated financial repression, intensifying efforts to dismantle civil society, undermine due process, and suppress dissent.
Blog Post Dec 26, 2024 Financial Freedom Report #55 In Russia, the State Duma passed sweeping amendments granting officials the ability to equate “funding extremist activities” with “financing terrorism.”
Blog Post Dec 19, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #54 After 53 years of tyranny, the Syrian regime has been overthrown.
Blog Post Dec 12, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #53 This week, governments and financial institutions around the world advanced policies that amplify the divide between state interests and the daily economic realities of citizens.
Blog Post Dec 5, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #52 In Thailand, the government initiated the second phase of its digital cash handout, targeting four million Thai seniors with 10,000 baht ($290) distributed via their state-controlled “Tang Rath” app.
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 Nov 21, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #50 This week, we celebrate a special milestone: the 50th edition of our newsletter and the 1-year anniversary of the Financial Freedom Report.
Blog Post Nov 7, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #48 Indian regulators are contemplating a ban on digital assets like Bitcoin to position their central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Digital Rupee, as the country’s dominant option.
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 Oct 24, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #46 We are excited to share that HRF’s CBDC Tracker is a finalist in this year’s Anthem Awards, which honor social impact work across various fields.
Blog Post Oct 10, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #44 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.
Blog Post Oct 3, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #43 In Kuwait, the government is escalating surveillance by mandating biometric fingerprint data for all citizens and threatening to restrict their financial accounts, assets, and government services if they fail to comply.
Blog Post Sep 26, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #42 In Zimbabwe, the regime’s new ZiG currency is rapidly losing value, depreciating by up to 80% on the parallel market as citizens lose confidence in the state’s latest monetary experiment. Despite government interventions — including creating artificial scarcity, freezing bank accounts, and arresting currency traders — Zimbabwe is on the brink of yet another currency failure.
Blog Post Sep 19, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #41 This week, authoritarian regimes continued to use financial repression tactics to target dissidents and opposition movements. In Nicaragua, the National Assembly unanimously approved a reform allowing the regime to prosecute and seize the assets of exiled citizens.
Blog Post Aug 22, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #37 In Russia, the crackdown on charitable donations continues. Ksenia Karelina, a dual Russian-American citizen, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for donating $51 to a Ukrainian charity. Her case highlights the severe risks individuals face when supporting Russian opposition and reminds us of the critical need for financial privacy, especially for the billions of people who live under tyrannical regimes.
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.”
Blog Post Jul 8, 2024 HRF’s Weekly Financial Freedom Report #30 In Kenya, thousands of young citizens protested new taxes and a bailout for the government, which continues to erode democracy. Thirty-nine people were killed. Meanwhile, Bolivia experienced an alleged coup attempt led by the former commander general of the military, which some suspect was orchestrated by President Luis Arce to boost his dwindling popularity amid severe financial hardships.
