The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has announced 1.5 billion satoshis in new grants through its Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF), expanding support for projects focused on Bitcoin infrastructure, privacy, and education.
The funding round targets open-source developers, researchers, and educational initiatives working across Bitcoin’s ecosystem, with an emphasis on tools that strengthen financial privacy and censorship resistance. According to HRF, the grants are intended to advance Bitcoin-based technologies that can support dissidents and human rights defenders operating under authoritarian regimes.
The organization estimates its efforts ultimately serve billions of people living under restrictive political systems, where access to open financial networks and uncensorable payment rails can be limited or surveilled. Supported projects will span software development, Bitcoin research, and grassroots education programs across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
HRF said the initiative is designed to reinforce Bitcoin’s role as a tool for financial freedom, enabling journalists, nonprofit organizations, and activists to more securely communicate, organize, and receive support globally through Bitcoin.
HRF’s grantees for the first quarter of 2026 include:
Bitcoin Privacy
Bitcoin Core P2P Privacy Enhancements
Bitcoin Core P2P privacy enhancements are an important area of ongoing work. Bitcoin Core developer Naiyoma is developing improvements to make it harder to track nodes running across multiple networks. This work strengthens the privacy of Bitcoin’s most widely used software implementations. HRF’s grant will enable Naiyoma to work full-time on these enhancements, helping activists and everyday users run Bitcoin infrastructure more safely in environments where financial activity may be monitored.
Bitcoin’s public ledger makes transactions traceable. CoinJoin is a privacy technique that improves this by combining multiple users’ transactions. This makes it harder to link payments to specific individuals. JoinMarket-NG is a new implementation of this technique that uses a peer-to-peer liquidity market, where some users provide liquidity and earn fees, while others pay for increased privacy. This grant will support development and the external security audits needed to fully launch JoinMarket-NG as an open-source tool that improves financial privacy for those who need it most.
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 is a local platform created by Bitcoin developer Nourou that allows people to instantly exchange between the CFA franc and bitcoin without requiring accounts. Removing the many barriers common to centralized exchanges offers a way for more people in West Africa to use Bitcoin. HRF’s grant will help finalize Banxass’s mobile app development and integrate more mobile money providers into the service to expand bitcoin payments across the region.
Tanzanians sending and receiving money across borders face some of the highest remittance fees in the world, losing a significant portion of every transfer to banks and intermediaries. ChapSmart, a Bitcoin application built by software developer Brian Mosha, helps Tanzanians send remittances, pay bills, and access Bitcoin — instantly and affordably — by bridging the Lightning Network directly to M-Pesa. It connects Bitcoin to existing payment rails, making the app usable for everyday activities. HRF’s grant will support development, outreach, and education to help Tanzanians preserve their savings and transact more freely under the country’s increasingly authoritarian regime.
Centralized digital asset exchanges require users to submit sensitive user data. This creates surveillance risks for human rights defenders transacting under dictatorships. Minmo offers an alternative. It connects users with trusted local agents who facilitate exchanges between fiat currencies and bitcoin without relying on centralized platforms. Embedding these services into apps and community networks allows people to access bitcoin through trusted intermediaries rather than data-collecting exchanges. HRF’s grant will support Minmo’s operational growth, infrastructure, and expand access to bitcoin for dissidents facing financial repression.
In Kenya, most merchants rely on M-PESA, a mobile money system for digital payments. To provide Kenyans with greater financial freedom and global payment options, African technologist Sabina Waithira Gitau co-founded Tando, a payment app that lets anyone pay merchants with bitcoin while merchants receive Kenyan shillings through an integration with M-PESA. This allows Kenyans to spend bitcoin from their own Lightning wallets as everyday money in Kenya. HRF’s funding will support Tando’s expansion into new countries in the region, enabling more people to transact with the global mobile money that is bitcoin.
Across much of Africa, using bitcoin for everyday payments often requires high fees or complicated withdrawal processes. Tapnob addresses this by allowing users to buy bitcoin through local bank transfers and convert only the amount needed into local currency. This lets people cover daily expenses or send cross-border support in local currency, while preserving the value of their savings in bitcoin. HRF’s grant will support Tapnob’s expansion across the continent and the development of educational resources to help individuals use bitcoin to transact more freely.
Building secure applications on Bitcoin requires understanding how transactions and scripts work at the protocol level, which can pose a steep learning curve for new developers. The rawBit platform lowers this barrier with a free, open-source visual editor that lets users build and inspect raw transactions using drag-and-drop tools. Helping more developers understand Bitcoin’s underlying mechanics strengthens the open-source infrastructure upon which people under financial repression depend. While the platform already includes 14 interactive lessons, HRF’s grant will support new modules on advanced topics like Taproot and the Lightning Network.
Safely approving Bitcoin transactions without exposing sensitive data to the internet is a real concern for some users. One solution is air-gapped signing, where a Bitcoin transaction is made without ever connecting to the internet. Sparrow Wallet, a non-custodial Bitcoin wallet, supports this functionality using a webcam integration to scan QR codes. Bitcoin developer doblon8 is improving this feature by replacing outdated scanning software with faster, more reliable code. This grant will help strengthen this feature, making it easier and safer for human rights defenders to use Sparrow Wallet to manage their bitcoin.
Bitcoin Community
Benin remains tied to the CFA franc, a colonial-era monetary system that limits economic sovereignty and restricts access to the global economy. Bitcoin Benin, a local group of educators and developers, is building a Bitcoin Knowledge Hub to develop an alternative. The Hub will be a physical learning center and co-working space where individuals can learn how to use and build Bitcoin tools. HRF’s grant will support the hub’s infrastructure and the 2026 Bitcoin Mastermind conference, funding workshops and training programs expected to reach more than 1,000 participants.
Refugees, asylum seekers, and people living under authoritarian rule are often excluded from traditional banking systems. This makes it difficult for already vulnerable people to send, receive, and store their money. Bitcoin for Good, a program of the Groundswell Project founded by the late human rights activist Hadiyah Masieh, works with these groups to help use Bitcoin for remittances, savings, and direct donations. The program provides hands-on training for individuals who cannot rely on conventional financial services. HRF’s grant will fund community outreach and documentation to expand the program and replicate it in new communities.
In Malaysia’s evolving political and regulatory environment, there is growing awareness of how financial systems and policies can influence public expression and community engagement. Bitcoin House Malaysia, an education hub in Kuala Lumpur founded by Nostr developer Shaun Time, offers hands-on learning for students to explore Bitcoin and other open-source technologies that promote free expression and financial autonomy. This grant will support operations and technical workshops, helping a local community build and use tools that strengthen resilience against censorship and centralized financial constraints.
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 meets this need by providing a global internship that pairs students with experienced mentors. Participants contribute to Bitcoin’s codebase through a developer track and improve user interfaces through a designer track while gaining hands-on experience. HRF’s funding will support student stipends and mentorship compensation, helping cultivate a more diverse group of contributors to Bitcoin’s development that reflects global needs.
In Haiti, persistent currency instability makes it difficult for many people to preserve the value of their work and savings. Local education initiative and community Yes Bitcoin Haiti is building a circular economy where individuals and merchants can earn, spend, and save without relying on the local currency. The initiative also undertakes educational outreach to local human rights defenders. HRF’s grant will support Bitcoin adoption and leadership development to equip Haitians and local civil society with the tools to transact freely in Bitcoin and preserve the value of their hard-earned labor within an open, borderless financial system.
Freedom Tech
Oftentimes, activists meet at conferences, build powerful connections, and then lose contact once the event ends. To foster ongoing collaboration, Cato Policy Analyst Nick Anthony and Bitcoin educator Paco de la India created the Activist Atlas, an interactive digital platform that allows changemakers to stay connected, discover one another’s work, and coordinate year-round while introducing freedom technologies like Bitcoin for donations and Nostr for secure communication. HRF’s grant will support the platform’s launch and help grow a global network of activists using freedom tech to remain inspired and operational.
Securely holding bitcoin often requires specialized signing devices that rely on proprietary components. This makes them costly or difficult to obtain in corrupt regimes or weak economies. Krux is open-source software that transforms widely available devices into secure Bitcoin signing devices. It supports offline transactions and is available in 10 languages to broaden accessibility. HRF’s grant will support software developer Odudex in refining the project so more people can securely hold bitcoin under authoritarian regimes.
Despite its potential as a censorship-resistant communication protocol, Nostr remains difficult for newcomers to understand and use. To lower these hurdles, educational platform LearnNostr provides a beginner-focused introduction that breaks the protocol down into practical lessons. Created by data scientist Cristy Almonte, the curriculum teaches real-world use cases (such as pseudonymous identities and secure publishing) for those living under the grip of dictators. HRF’s funding will support the platform’s development and help more people living under censorship communicate safely.
NetBlocks Internet Observatory
Authoritarian regimes increasingly shut down the internet and block platforms to silence dissent, obscure human rights abuses, and disrupt financial alternatives. NetBlocks, an internet observatory founded by technologist Alp Toker, tracks and documents these disruptions in real time. Its reporting creates a global record of internet censorship that helps hold authoritarian regimes accountable. HRF’s support will sustain this monitoring so activists and civil society can expose digital repression as it happens.
Bitcoin Research & Education
AmityAge
In many authoritarian countries, activists and civil society groups face currency instability, financial restrictions, and surveillance. To alleviate these pain points, Bitcoin initiative AmityAge launched the Bitcoin Educators Academy, a program that prepares local educators to teach financial sovereignty under repression. HRF’s support will fund event costs for five academies, training 75 educators in essential soft and communication skills to teach self-custody and the use of permissionless financial tools in their regions in a clear and understandable way.
For Bitcoin to function as freedom money, its development must remain neutral and independent. To better understand whether funding influences that independence, Base58, a technical Bitcoin education school, will publish “Funding and Open Source Contributions to Bitcoin,” a research report analyzing how funding sources shape open-source contributions using quantitative and visual data. HRF’s support will fund the personnel and equipment needed to complete this two-month study.
Norway is considering a Bitcoin mining ban that could set a precedent across Nordic and European democracies if policymakers misunderstand Bitcoin’s broader role in financial freedom. This could provide cover for authoritarian regimes to implement more repressive policies. To address this risk, the Bitcoin Policy Norway launched Bitcoin Education for Norwegian Policymakers. This initiative will provide officials, aid organizations, and media with evidence-based research and testimonials from dissidents resisting authoritarian regimes on Bitcoin’s human rights applications. HRF’s grant will support operations, travel, and outreach to ensure decision-makers understand Bitcoin’s value and avoid policies that could restrict access to this technology.
In Burundi, state control over financial access leaves little room for independent alternatives. BTC Shule, a local Bitcoin community founded by social entrepreneur ₿elyï, will launch an eight-month accelerator program to train developers to build open-source Bitcoin tools suited for this specific environment. The program will offer meetups and mentorship for participants. HRF funding will support a hackathon, stipends, and operational costs to build freedom tech tailored to Burundi’s local financial realities under an authoritarian regime.
Authoritarian regulation often determines whether people can legally use Bitcoin, shaping its potential as a tool for financial freedom in the places where it is most needed. Bitcoin researcher Daniel Batten will examine this issue through data-driven research and educational outreach. His work will focus on informing and training activists and civil society in countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Egypt. HRF’s grant will help fund the research, production, and outreach that enable individuals to use Bitcoin more freely.
In repressive environments, access to Bitcoin tools can be costly, restricted, or monitored. DIYbitcoin is a resource that helps individuals bypass these barriers by teaching them how to build and operate their own hardware using open-source software and affordable, off-the-shelf components. The project will create a multilingual library of visual do-it-yourself guides tailored to communities across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. This grant will fund workshops and educator training to help local communities adopt self-custody and run their own Bitcoin infrastructure.
Financial exclusion is increasingly used by dictators to silence civil society and restrict democratic participation. To document and expose this growing pattern, Jorge Jraissati, president of the Economic Inclusion Group, is leading a research initiative titled Documenting, Communicating, and Protecting Victims of Financial Exclusion. The project will document 100 cases of dissidents cut off from financial systems worldwide. It will share these stories through articles, podcasts, and social media to reach more than three million people. HRF’s grant will support researchers and operational costs to publish these cases.
Hardware wallets are one of the safest ways to store Bitcoin, but they can be expensive and technically challenging, especially for those new to self-custody. SeedSigner, an open-source hardware wallet, allows users to build their own signing devices from inexpensive, widely available components. However, its limited documentation can make the setup process more challenging for newcomers. Easy, a contributor to the SeedSigner project, is creating a step-by-step user guide to simplify the process. HRF’s funding will support the development of this resource, helping human rights defenders with limited resources securely store and manage their bitcoin.
