HRF Gives 2 Billion Satoshis to 10 Global Bitcoin Projects

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF), which has funded a variety of projects to support censorship resistance and Bitcoin Education, has given 2 billion satoshis (approximately $475,000) from the Bitcoin Development Fund, to 10 global projects. The funding will be used to support areas such as censorship resistant communication, Bitcoin education under authoritarian regimes and core development, building local communities, and education with a particular focus on Africa and Southeast Asia. The grants include $100,000 to Qala, a fellowship program training the next generation of African Bitcoin and Lightning developers, allowing the program to continue their 13-week fellowship and sponsoring six Qala fellows to attend the Oslo Freedom Forum.The HRF has also awarded $75,000 to the Africa Bitcoin Conference, the largest Bitcoin-focused conference in Africa, and $50,000 to William Casarin for his work on Nostr, a censorship-resistant, open-source and decentralized social network platform. Bitcoin for Fairness also received $50,000. This group focuses on increasing awareness of Bitcoin for those living in poverty and authoritarian countries. Vasil Dimov was a top-20 contributor of Bitcoin Core. Another $50,000 was awarded to Emmanuel Bronshtein, who contributed to Wallet Scrutiny and Exomunia to expand Bitcoin education resources. Ekenimoh Elyan was awarded for EasePay and Bitcoin Myanmar for financial freedom education. Since early 2020, HRF has distributed more than $2.2 million in USD and BTC to over 70 developers, educators, and open-source projects around the world. The organization continues to seek support for the Bitcoin Development Fund. The next round of gifts will be announced in May 2023. Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer at HRF, stated that Bitcoin is a powerful tool for human right defenders all over the globe. These grants support their belief in “financial liberty as a human rights right”. We are proud to support the incredible work of these individuals, and organizations using Bitcoin to fight for freedom and human rights, especially in areas where it is most needed. HRF is a registered non-profit 501(c), and donations are tax-deductible to their fullest extent. Send support requests to dev.fund@hrf.org. More information is available on HRF’s website.