It is important to note that the word “you” means “you”. Human Rights Foundation HRF has awarded new grants of 1.5 billion satoshis through its Bitcoin Development Fund. This will expand support for Bitcoin infrastructure projects, education, and privacy.
Funding is targeted at educational, research, and open-source initiatives that work across the Bitcoin ecosphere. Tools to enhance financial privacy and resistance to censorship are a priority. HRF claims that the grants will be used to support human rights activists and dissidents who are operating in authoritarian countries.
The group estimates that its work will ultimately benefit billions of people who live under political restrictions, and are unable to access open financial networks or uncensored payment rails. The projects supported will include software development, Bitcoin-related research and grassroots educational programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
HRF stated that the initiative was designed to strengthen Bitcoin as a financial freedom tool, by enabling journalists and nonprofits to communicate more securely, to organize and to receive global support through Bitcoin.
HRF grantees in the first quarter 2026 are:
Bitcoin Privacy
Bitcoin Core P2P Privacy Enhancements
Bitcoin Core P2P improvements are a key area of current work. Bitcoin Core developer Naiyoma The work will make it more difficult to track the nodes that are running on multiple networks. These improvements improve the privacy for Bitcoin’s widely-used software. HRF’s grant allows Naiyoma, who is a full-time employee of HRF, to focus on the enhancements. This will help activists and users operate Bitcoin infrastructure in an environment where financial activities may be monitored.
Bitcoin’s public ledger allows transactions to be traced. CoinJoin improves privacy by merging multiple user’s transactions. The payments are then harder to track down. JoinMarket-NG This is a brand new implementation that utilizes a peer to peer liquidity market. Some users earn money by providing liquidity, and others pay fees for privacy. The grant is intended to support the development of JoinMarket-NG and external security audits required for its full launch as an open source tool which improves financial privacy.
Bitcoin Payments
Many people in heavily-authoritarian West Africa lack simple ways to convert between local currency and Bitcoin without banks or custodial services. Banxaas It is an online platform that was created by a Bitcoin developer Nourou It allows you to convert instantly from CFA franc to bitcoin, without having an account. The removal of the numerous barriers associated with central exchanges will allow more West Africans to utilize Bitcoin. HRF’s grant will assist Banxass in finalizing the mobile app and integrating more mobile payment providers to the service, allowing bitcoin payments throughout the region.
Tanzanians who send and receive money abroad pay some of the most expensive remittance charges in the world. They lose a large portion of their transfer when they use banks or intermediaries. ChapSmartThe Bitcoin wallet application was created by a developer Brian Mosha, helps Tanzanians send remittances, pay bills, and access Bitcoin — instantly and affordably — by bridging the Lightning Network directly to M-Pesa. The app connects Bitcoin with existing payment rails to make it usable in everyday life. HRF will use its grant to support outreach and education, as well as development and research, in order to assist Tanzanians with preserving their savings, while also allowing them more freedom of movement under Tanzania’s rapidly-evolving financial system. authoritarian regime.
Centralized digital assets exchanges demand that users submit sensitive information about themselves. It creates a surveillance risk for human rights activists transacting in dictatorships. Minmo Offers an alternative. The service connects its users to trusted agents in their locality who can facilitate the exchange of fiat currency for bitcoin, without having to rely on central platforms. These services can be embedded into community networks and apps to allow people access bitcoins through trusted intermediaries, rather than relying on data-collecting exchanges. HRF’s grant will help Minmo expand its infrastructure and support Minmo’s growth. It also allows dissidents who face financial repression to have access bitcoin.
M-PESA is the mobile money service that Kenyans most rely upon for digital payment. African technologists are working to provide Kenyans greater financial flexibility and international payment options. Sabina Waithira Gitau co-founded TandoThe app is a bitcoin payment system that allows anyone to pay merchants in Kenyan Shillings via M-PESA. Kenyans can now spend their bitcoins from Lightning wallets in Kenya as normal money. HRF funding will help Tando expand to new countries within the region. This allows more people in that area to use bitcoin, the mobile global money.
In many parts of Africa, the use of bitcoins for daily payments is often accompanied by high withdrawal fees and complicated processes. Tapnob Users can buy bitcoins via local bank transfers. They only need to convert the required amount into local currency. The local currency can be used to cover expenses and send support across borders, but the bitcoin value is preserved. HRF’s grant will help Tapnob expand across the continent, and develop educational resources that can be used to make bitcoin transactions more free.
Bitcoin Development
For new developers, understanding the protocols and how they work is essential to building secure Bitcoin apps. This can pose a steep learning slope for developers. rawBit This barrier is lowered by platform, a free and open-source editor which allows users to build raw transactions with drag-and-drop. The open-source platform that relies on people who are under financial pressure is strengthened by helping developers better understand Bitcoin. HRF will provide funding to support the development of new advanced modules such as Taproot, Lightning Network and Lightning Network.
Some users are concerned about how to approve Bitcoin transactions safely without having their sensitive data exposed on the Internet. Air-gapped signature is one solution, which allows a Bitcoin transaction to be made without connecting with the internet. Sparrow WalletThe webcam is integrated into, an non-custodial Bitcoin Wallet, to enable this feature. Bitcoin developer doblon8 The feature will be improved through the replacement of outdated scan software by faster, more reliable codes. This grant is to strengthen this feature to make it easier for human rights defenders using Sparrow Wallet, to manage bitcoin.
Bitcoin Community
Benin is still tied to CFA Francs, an old colonial monetary system which limits the country’s economic sovereignty as well as its access to global markets. Bitcoin BeninA group of local educators and developers is developing a Bitcoin Knowledge hub to provide an alternative. The Hub is a co-working and learning space that will allow individuals to develop and learn Bitcoin tools. HRF will use the grant to support hub infrastructure as well as the 2026 goals. Bitcoin Mastermind The conference will fund workshops and programs of training for more than 1000 participants.
Often, refugees, asylees and people who live under an authoritarian government are not allowed to use the banking system. It is difficult to store, send and receive money for people who are already at risk. Bitcoin for Good – a program by the Groundswell Project Founded by late Human Rights activist Hadiyah MasiehThis program helps individuals and groups use Bitcoin to remit money, save, or make direct donations. This program offers hands-on instruction to individuals that cannot depend on traditional financial services. The grant from HRF will be used to fund outreach in the community and documentation for expansion of the program.
Malaysia’s evolving In the current political and regulatory climate, people are becoming more aware of how policies and financial systems can affect public opinion and engagement. Bitcoin House MalaysiaNostr, a developer of Nostr software, has founded an educational hub in Kuala Lumpur. Shaun TimeStudents can learn by doing about Bitcoin, and other technologies open source that encourage free speech and financial independence. The grant supports operations and workshops to help a community develop and use tools which strengthen their resilience against censorship.
Students around the world — particularly those living under dictatorships and broken economies — lack a pathway to contribute to Bitcoin’s open-source development. Summer of Bitcoin This need is met by a global program that matches students with mentors who have experience. The participants gain hands-on knowledge while contributing to Bitcoin’s codebase via a developer or designer track. HRF will provide funding to support mentorship and student stipends. This helps cultivate an international group of Bitcoin contributors who are more diverse.
Currency instability in Haiti makes it hard for people to save their money and work. Local initiative for education and community Yes Bitcoin Haiti The circular economy is a way for individuals, merchants, and businesses to earn, save, and spend without having to rely on local currencies. This initiative will also provide educational outreach for local human rights activists. HRF’s grant supports Bitcoin adoption and the development of leadership to provide Haitians and the local civil society tools that will allow them to freely transact in Bitcoin, and maintain the value their hard earned labor within an unrestricted financial system.
Freedom Tech
Sometimes, activists will meet up at conferences and form powerful relationships, but then they lose touch once the conference is over. To foster ongoing collaboration, Cato Policy Analyst Nick Anthony Bitcoin is a great educator Paco de la India The Activist Atlas was created, an interactive, digital platform which allows activists to remain connected, find out about one another’s work and plan events throughout the year, all while introducing freedom-enhancing technologies such as Bitcoin donations and Nostr secure communication. HRF’s grant will help launch the platform and grow a network of activists who use freedom technology to stay inspired and operational.
To hold bitcoin securely, you may need to use specialized signature devices which rely on proprietary parts. In corrupt or weak economic regimes, they are therefore expensive or hard to get. Krux Open-source software transforms devices that are widely available into Bitcoin signature devices. The software supports both offline and online transactions. It is also available in 10 different languages. HRF grant to support software development Odudex In refining the Project so that more people are able to securely hold Bitcoin under authoritarian governments.
Nostr is a difficult protocol to use and understand for those who are new. The educational platform aims to lower these obstacles. LearnNostr The protocol is broken down into lessons for beginners. The data scientist created this tool Cristy AlmonteThis curriculum provides real-world examples (such a pseudonymous identity and secure publication) that can be used by those under the dictator’s grip. HRF’s funding is intended to help the platform develop and allow more people under censorship, including those living in countries with strict censorship laws, to safely communicate.
NetBlocks Internet Observatory
Autoritarian regimes are increasingly blocking the internet to quell dissent and hide human rights violations, as well as disrupting financial alternatives. NetBlocksA technologist founded an Internet observatory Alp TokerThis disruption is tracked and documented in real-time. The reporting of its reports creates an international record on internet censorship, which helps authoritarian governments to be held accountable. HRF’s support for this monitoring will allow activists and civil societies to uncover digital repression at the time it occurs.
Bitcoin Research & Education
AmityAge
Bitcoin initiative is a way to alleviate these pain points. Bitcoin is a solution to these problems. AmityAge Launched Bitcoin Educators AcademyA program to prepare local educators for teaching financial sovereignty in repression. HRF will support five academies to train 75 educators on essential communication and soft skills. They’ll be able to clearly and easily explain how they can use permissionless financial instruments in their region.
Bitcoin must be developed in a neutral, independent manner if it is to serve as a freedom currency. For a better understanding of whether funding affects that independence. Base58A technical Bitcoin education center will soon publish “Funding and Open Source Contributions to Bitcoin,” In a report, quantitative and visual information is used to analyze how the funding source influences open-source contributions. HRF’s funding will cover the costs of personnel and necessary equipment to carry out this two-month research.
Norway has considered a ban on Bitcoin mining that may set a precedent in other Nordic democracies and Europe if the policymakers do not understand Bitcoin’s wider role within financial freedom. It could be used as a cover by authoritarian governments to implement more restrictive policies. This risk can be addressed by the Bitcoin Policy Norway Launched Bitcoin Education for Norwegian Policymakers The aim of this initiative is to provide dissidents and other activists who resist authoritarian regimes with testimonials and evidence-based studies on Bitcoin and its human rights applications. HRF’s grant will fund operations, travels, and outreach so that decision-makers are aware of Bitcoin’s importance and can avoid policies restricting access to it.
Burundi’s state-controlled financial system leaves few independent options. BTC ShuleA local Bitcoin community created by a social entrepreneur ₿elyïThe program will train developers in the development of open-source Bitcoin tools for this environment. Program participants will have access to meetups, mentorship, and other resources. HRF will fund a hackathon and operational costs for Burundi-specific freedom tech. authoritarian regime.
Bitcoin’s potential to be a financial tool in places that need it most is often determined by authoritarian regulations. Bitcoin researcher Daniel Batten The issue of this problem will be addressed through data-driven analysis and education outreach. Ses efforts will be aimed at educating and training civil society activists in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt. HRF’s grant will be used to fund the production of Bitcoin-related materials, as well as outreach and research.
In environments where Bitcoin is repressed, the tools are often restricted, monitored, and/or expensive. DIYbitcoin It is an online resource which helps users to overcome such barriers. The tool teaches them how they can build their own hardware by using affordable components, open-source software, and other inexpensive products. This project will produce a library of multilingual visual guides for do-it yourselfers in Latin America, Africa and Asia. The grant funds workshops for educators and local communities to adopt and manage their Bitcoin infrastructure.
Financial exclusion has become a tool increasingly used by dictators in order to suppress civil society and limit democratic participation. Document and expose the growing trend. Jorge JraissatiPresident of the Economic Inclusion GroupThe research project, Documenting Financial Exclusion: Communicating and Protecting the Victims, was led by. The project will record 100 cases where dissidents are cut off by financial systems around the globe. The project will use articles, podcasts and social media platforms to share the stories with more than 3 million people. The grant from HRF will cover the costs of publishing these cases and support researchers.
Hardware wallets offer the most secure way to store Bitcoins, but can also be costly and difficult to use, especially for new users. SeedSignerOpen-source hardware wallets allow users to create their own signature devices using inexpensive and widely available components. Its limited documentation may make it difficult to set up for those who are new. EasyThe user guide is being created by a participant in the SeedSigner initiative. HRF will fund the creation of this tool, which helps human rights advocates with limited financial resources to securely store and maintain their bitcoin.
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Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
