Human Rights Foundation Donates 1 Billion Satoshis To Fund Bitcoin Development

2 months ago

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has announced a caller circular of grants from its Bitcoin Development Fund, distributing 1 cardinal satoshis (10 BTC) to implicit 20 projects worldwide. The grants purpose to enactment open-source Bitcoin development, mining decentralization, privateness tools, and acquisition initiatives for individuals surviving nether authoritarian regimes, with a absorption connected Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

The latest cohort includes divers projects advancing Bitcoin’s relation arsenic a fiscal and quality rights empowerment tool.

NetBlocks, a integer rights watchdog organization, monitors and reports connected net shutdowns successful real-time. Authoritarian regimes often usage these shutdowns to suppress protests, throttle dissent, and restrict entree to fiscal tools. HRF’s enactment volition heighten NetBlocks’ monitoring, documentation, and probe capabilities to reenforce net and fiscal fredom. 

TollGate, a task developed by ISP c03rad0r, transforms mean WiFi routers into decentralized net work providers utilizing Bitcoin and ecash. This peer-to-peer networking instrumentality allows users to bypass centralized ISPs, offering an alternate to state-controlled net access. With HRF funding, TollGate volition proceed advancing its ngo of gathering a censorship-resistant net that empowers individuals to pass freely.

Vinteum is simply a nonprofit Bitcoin probe and improvement halfway based successful Latin America. It focuses connected grooming and backing developers to lend to the Bitcoin protocol and ecosystem. With enactment from HRF, Vinteum plans to grow its developer acquisition programs, sponsor contributors, and fortify Latin America’s Bitcoin improvement community, helping the portion physique fiscal alternatives to fragile fiat systems.

BTCPay Server is an open-source, self-hosted Bitcoin outgo processor that allows individuals and organizations to judge Bitcoin without relying connected 3rd parties. This is particularly captious successful regimes wherever outgo processors are weaponized to soundlessness NGOs and activists. HRF’s assistance volition assistance standard BTCPay’s reach, amended usability, and summation planetary entree to censorship-resistant payments.

Africa Bitcoin Institute (ABI), supported by Rwandan activistic Anaïse Kanimba, bridges the spread betwixt Bitcoin adoption and argumentation successful Africa. ABI conducts probe and provides argumentation recommendations to beforehand fiscal autonomy. With HRF’s backing, ABI volition will beforehand fiscal autonomy and solidify Bitcoin’s relation arsenic a pillar of economical freedom

Bitcoin Core Graphical User Interface (GUI) – Running a afloat Bitcoin node is simply a cornerstone of fiscal sovereignty, but the method interface tin beryllium a barrier. Bitcoin-core/gui-qml, a task supported by developer Go Qu, modernizes the Bitcoin Core interface to marque it much intuitive, particularly for mobile users successful processing regions. HRF backing volition enactment ongoing improvement to little the obstruction to introduction for node runners globally.

Rkrux is simply a Bitcoin Core contributor focused connected codification review, bug testing, and improving documentation. His contributions assistance support Bitcoin’s resilience. HRF’s assistance volition let Rkrux to proceed his work, ensuring that the Bitcoin web remains robust, secure, and censorship-resistant for users astir the world.

Elsat is simply a developer contributing to the Nostr ecosystem, including projects similar Damus, Nostrability, and Zap.store. These tools connection decentralized messaging, improved app interoperability, and peer-to-peer bundle monetization. HRF’s assistance volition enactment ongoing improvement aimed astatine strengthening escaped look and fiscal independency for users nether authoritarian regimes.

Relay Wizard, created by developer J the Code Monkey, simplifies the process of mounting up Nostr relays. These relays are indispensable to decentralized connection connected the Nostr protocol. The instrumentality allows non-technical users to run their ain servers, contributing to a much resilient, censorship-resistant connection infrastructure. HRF’s assistance volition beforehand improvement and deployment of this tool.

Waye is simply a enactment inaugural co-founded by Bitcoin Core developer Amiti Uttarwar and operational designer Anna Sides. It provides psycho-social enactment for open-source developers gathering state tech. By addressing burnout and isolation among contributors, Waye strengthens the ecosystem’s quality foundation. HRF backing volition assistance Waye grow its reach, particularly to developers from the Global South.

Hashpool is simply a self-hosted mining excavation developed by vnprc that supports decentralization successful Bitcoin mining. Rather than relying connected centralized entities, miners are rewarded with ecash tokens, enabling instant, backstage payouts. HRF’s enactment volition further Hashpool’s improvement and beforehand a much distributed and censorship-resistant mining landscape.

Cashu KVAC is a protocol upgrade for Cashu, a Chaumian ecash strategy that enables highly beardown fiscal privacy. Developed by lollerfirst, this betterment enhances privateness by reducing information retention and hiding transaction amounts. HRF’s assistance volition enactment further development, reinforcing fiscal privateness protections for susceptible users.

Self-Custody Research: Brandon Black (Rearden) is conducting probe into the challenges of self-custody for Bitcoin users successful authoritarian regimes. His findings volition pass caller tools and acquisition that marque secure, backstage Bitcoin usage much accessible. HRF’s assistance volition money this probe and the improvement of acquisition resources.

Stable Channels is simply a task by Tony Klausing that introduces fiat-pegged balances to the Lightning Network, helping users debar Bitcoin’s volatility portion maintaining afloat custody. With HRF support, the task volition grow its integrations and idiosyncratic outreach, enabling individuals to transact freely without relying connected centralized stablecoin issuers.

Bitsacco, developed by okjodom, is simply a Fedimint-based level that modernizes Kenya’s SACCO (Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization) exemplary utilizing Bitcoin and Fedimints. It allows community-based fiscal groups to run independently of banks. HRF’s assistance volition money Bitsacco’s development, training, and section deployment.

The Core, founded by Kenyan pedagogue Felix Mukungu, provides applicable Bitcoin acquisition done workshops, meetups, and integer content. It focuses connected self-custody, Lightning usage, and node operation. HRF’s enactment volition let The Core to grow its scope crossed Kenya and beyond.

Bitcoin Babies, founded by Naomi Wambui, addresses babe malnutrition and fiscal illiteracy done a unsocial programme combining nutrition enactment and Bitcoin education. Mothers person play Bitcoin stipends and grooming to execute semipermanent fiscal security. HRF backing volition standard the program’s scope to much families successful need.

East Asia Bitcoin Developer Apprenticeship Program: Led by Calvin Kim, this programme trains Korean and Japanese developers successful open-source Bitcoin development. Apprentices summation hands-on acquisition and lend to large projects. HRF’s enactment volition grow entree and mentorship opportunities, helping span the determination endowment spread and supporting defectors from authoritarian governments.

Bitcoin Week astatine TalentLand 2025: At TalentLand, Latin America’s largest tech conference, Bitcoin Week volition present thousands of attendees to Bitcoin done workshops and hackathons. Organized by Super Testnet and the Bitcoin and Lightning Guadalajara community, the inaugural highlights Bitcoin’s relation successful fiscal empowerment. HRF’s assistance volition assistance grow the program.

Base58’s Bitcoin Live Action Role Play (LARP), created by Lisa Neigut and David Rodriguez, offers an immersive learning acquisition wherever participants simulate the Bitcoin network. By acting retired transactions and node operations, learners summation a deeper knowing of Bitcoin. HRF’s enactment volition money facilitator grooming and planetary expansion, peculiarly successful underserved regions.

BTCenEspañol is simply a starring root of Spanish-language Bitcoin education. With a extremity of reaching implicit 1 cardinal learners and grooming 100 instructors, the level is expanding crossed South America. HRF’s assistance volition enactment teacher training, people development, and outreach successful authoritarian-affected regions.

Increasing Nonprofit Adoption of Bitcoin: Researcher Daniel Batten is studying however nonprofits tin usage Bitcoin to flooded fiscal censorship. His task provides data-driven insights and applicable guidance for NGOs operating successful hostile environments. With HRF’s funding, the inaugural volition enactment NGOs adopting Bitcoin successful regions wherever accepted banking is compromised.

Bitcoin for Good, led by activistic Hadiya Masieh, offers hands-on grooming to nonprofits connected however to judge Bitcoin. The extremity is to alteration NGOs to bypass fiscal restrictions and support independence. HRF’s assistance volition money workshops, method assistance, and organizational integration support.

Since its motorboat successful 2020, HRF’s Bitcoin Development Fund has distributed much than $7.8 cardinal successful BTC to 284 projects successful 62 countries. The adjacent circular of grants volition beryllium announced astatine the 17th yearly Oslo Freedom Forum, taking spot May 26–28, 2025, successful Oslo, Norway.

The HRF is simply a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) enactment that promotes and protects quality rights globally, with a absorption connected closed societies. The HRF continues to rise enactment for the Bitcoin Development Fund, and funny donors tin find much info connected however to donate here. Applications for assistance enactment by the HRF tin beryllium submitted here

Vivek Sen Bitcoin

Vivek Sen Bitcoin

Vivek has been fascinated by Bitcoin since helium discovered it successful 2016. He besides runs a Bitcoin selling agency, Bitgrow Lab, and helium utilized to enactment astatine a Bitcoin VC fund, Lightning Ventures. He loves growth, marketing, startups, and writing. He is an EU quality newsman for Bitcoin Magazine.

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