The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has announced its latest round of Bitcoin Development Fund grants, awarding 10 Bitcoin, worth approximately $590,000, to 20 projects around the world. These grants are focused on advancing financial privacy, Bitcoin education, and decentralized mining, with a special emphasis on supporting communities in regions with authoritarian regimes, including parts of Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

According to the HRF’s press release, the grants aim to empower human rights defenders through Bitcoin education and tools that ensure financial privacy and sovereignty. Some of the notable projects include “African Bitcoiners,” which educates individuals across Africa on using Bitcoin, and “Silentium,” a self-custodial wallet designed to protect financial privacy for activists.

Other recipients include “Harbor,” a Bitcoin privacy wallet, and “Coracle,” a Nostr web client focused on censorship-resistant social media. Several conferences, such as Bitcoin++, TABConf, and Baltic Honeybadger, also received funding to facilitate discussions on privacy, Bitcoin development, and financial freedom.

The HRF remains committed to supporting initiatives that protect human rights through financial privacy and decentralized tools, with the latest grants aligning with this mission. HRF’s program director, Alex Gladstein, highlighted that Bitcoin’s decentralized nature is crucial in regions with oppressive governments, offering a path to financial freedom and privacy for citizens under surveillance.

The projects funded by the HRF’s Bitcoin Development Fund are expected to play a vital role in empowering individuals in areas where financial freedom is limited. The grants will help further development in the Bitcoin ecosystem and bolster efforts to educate and equip people worldwide with the tools they need for financial independence.

HRF Blog Post

Bitcoin Magazine Article