Financial Freedom Report #73

Good morning, readers!

This week, we bring reports from Bangladesh, where the interim government instructed the central bank to halt the printing of old banknotes featuring Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh. This has induced a currency shortage, as new notes have yet to be issued to replace the discontinued ones. As a result, Bangladeshis find themselves holding worthless currency, facing increased costs, and feeling frustrated over such poor currency management. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, citizens are fleeing to gold as the local rupiah currency crashes to record lows amid increasing financial controls from the government.

In open-source news, LNbits, a Bitcoin and Lightning wallet management software, emerged from beta with its v1.0.0 release. LNbits works like a control panel on top of a Bitcoin wallet, letting users divide funds into separate accounts and use different features and functionalities. It is a handy tool for educators, civil society organizations, and communities who want to use Bitcoin for real-world transactions without needing advanced technical skills. We also spotlight a new tool called following .space that allows users to curate and share premade follow packs for nostr. The result is a more straightforward onboarding process for new users interested in censorship-resistant social media and the ability to curate feeds to better suit their interests.

We end with an interview with HRF Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein, who explores his thinking behind the relationship between Bitcoin and human rights as we enter an age of increased corporate and nation-state adoption. He highlights the paradox where Bitcoin, a tool for individual financial freedom, is being adopted by institutions around the world, many of which regularly seek greater control over financial activity. We also include a new report from Bitcoin developer and past HRF grantee, b10c, who documents the current state of Bitcoin mining centralization and the threat it poses to decentralization and censorship resistance.

Now, let’s jump right in!

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GLOBAL NEWS

Bangladesh | Currency Shortage as Central Bank Halts Printing of Banknotes

A state-induced cash crunch is paralyzing Bangladesh after the interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, ordered the central bank to discontinue old banknotes featuring Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh. New cash is expected to be printed in phases beginning in May. But Bangladeshis report they are currently stuck with old and unusable currency, as the national mint has yet to issue replacement currency and lacks the capacity to print more than three notes at a time. Meanwhile, public ATMs continue to dispense old and worn-out banknotes, with merchants reluctantly accepting them and banks refusing to exchange them. Through all this, the central bank of Bangladesh sits on nearly 15,000 crore taka ($1.28 billion) worth of old notes in vaults, but the interim government has refused to release them, deepening public frustration.

Nigeria | Regulates Bitcoin as a Security

Nigerian lawmakers are moving to regulate digital assets as securities by passing the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025. Rather than embrace it as a tool for financial freedom, the law places Bitcoin under the purview of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Companies must now register with the Nigerian SEC, implement more strict data-collection processes (to harvest personal information), and navigate a legal framework not designed for a borderless and permissionless technology like Bitcoin. The law further grants the SEC access to data from telecom and Internet providers to investigate “illegal market activity” — a provision that could easily be abused to surveil or intimidate Bitcoin users and developers. Nigeria routinely uses regulations to stifle the presence of open-source money, raising compliance hurdles, imposing taxes, and punishing digital asset companies. It’s not unreasonable to suspect this new classification could provide the state with a means to suppress the free adoption and innovation of Bitcoin.

Indonesia | Gold Rush Amid Economic Uncertainty

As the rupiah currency falls to record lows, Indonesians are flocking to gold in a rush to protect their savings. But gold isn’t the only safe haven. With 74% of Indonesia’s population unbanked or underbanked, digital tools like Bitcoin offer a more accessible alternative, especially when nearly 70% of Indonesians have Internet access. The Indonesian government is also tightening capital controls. A new policy forces exporters to keep all foreign currency earnings inside the country for a full year to trap dollars in the financial system. HRF grantee Bitcoin Indonesia is responding by helping people in the region (especially in nearby states like Burma) build financial resilience through meetups, workshops, and training focused on Bitcoin custody, privacy, and adoption. In an area where financial services remain out of reach for millions, learning how to save and transact permissionlessly is paramount.

Kenya | Introduces Legal Framework for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs)

Kenya’s government introduced a comprehensive legal framework to regulate Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) through its newly proposed 2025 VASP Bill. The legislation outlines strict licensing requirements for digital asset exchanges, wallet providers, brokers, and other digital asset firms. It functionally bars individuals from operating independently (think: open-source freedom tech builders) by mandating local incorporation, compliance with cybersecurity standards, and approval from financial regulators. This appears to be an attempt to formalize and better control the rapidly growing digital asset space. It could stifle grassroots innovation and limit access to financial tools that have become vital for activists and citizens seeking privacy and autonomy as economic policies and high inflation drive unrest.

El Salvador | Attorney General’s Office Preparing Arrest Warrants for Independent Journalists

El Faro, one of El Salvador’s most prominent investigative news outlets, shared reliable information that the Salvadoran Attorney General’s Office is preparing arrest warrants against three of its journalists. The warning came from El Faro director Carlos Dada, who suggests that the charges may include “apology for crimes” and “illicit association.” The alleged charges allegedly stem from El Faro’s latest reporting: a three-part video interview with former leaders of the 18th Street Revolucionarios gang that sheds light on Bukele’s “years-long relationship” with Salvadoran gangs. El Faro editor-in-chief Óscar Martínez said that any arrests or home raids following this news would be “for having done journalism.” With El Salvador’s shrinking civic space, this potential action against independent media would further restrict Salvadorans’ ability to access independent information and hold officials accountable.

BITCOIN AND FREEDOM TECH NEWS

LNbits | Emerges from Beta with v1.0.0 Release

LNbits, an open-source software tool that lets people create and manage Bitcoin Lightning wallets securely for themselves and for others, officially launched version 1.0.0, marking its transition out of beta and into a more stable release for public use. It works like a control panel sitting on top of a Bitcoin wallet, letting users divide funds into separate accounts and use different features and functionalities. LNbits is especially useful for educators, small businesses, and community organizers who want to use and manage Bitcoin for payments and savings. HRF is pleased to see this Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF) grantee strengthen the tools available to activists to achieve financial freedom in the face of censorship, surveillance, or inflation.

SeedSigner | Self-Custody Tool for Chinese Bitcoiners Facing Local Corruption

Chinese Bitcoin users are turning to SeedSigner, an open-source and fully customizable Bitcoin hardware wallet, as a more private way to protect their savings from law enforcement corruption. While many assume the primary threat to Bitcoin in China comes from top-down management and enforcement from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), new reports suggest greater concern over the police, who regularly monitor mail, detect hardware wallet purchases, and fabricate charges to extort Chinese users’ Bitcoin. SeedSigner solves this by allowing users to assemble a secure signing device from generic, inexpensive parts, avoiding the risk of shipping a branded wallet that might flag them as a target. When privacy violations begin at the local level, SeedSigner can help citizens safeguard their financial freedom by making secure self-custody discreet, accessible, and affordable.

Following .space | Create and Share Follow Packs on Nostr

Following.space is a new tool for nostr that solves one of the protocol’s biggest pain points: finding people worth following in the absence of an algorithm. Created by developer and HRF grantee Calle, the tool lets anyone build and share curated “follow packs” — pre-made lists of nostr users that can be easily distributed across the web. The lists are customizable and can be made based on shared interests, communities, organizations, regions, and more. This makes onboarding new users easier and allows users to curate their feeds to suit their interests. The result is a simple but powerful tool that helps nostr scale more organically by encouraging natural discovery. Enabling free expression and connections without reliance on centralized platforms strengthens human rights and financial freedom in repressive environments. Try it here.

256 Foundation | Releases Ember One Source Code

The 256 Foundation, an open-source Bitcoin mining initiative, released the source code of its new Ember One Bitcoin mining hashboard to the public. A Bitcoin hashboard is a device with multiple chips for performing Bitcoin mining computations. The open-source Ember One only consumes 100 Watts of total power and is modular by design, allowing user customization and the ability to mine discreetly even under autocratic regimes. This is important because it gives individuals a way to access and earn Bitcoin without drawing the attention of officials. For dissidents, mining at home means gaining more control over how they earn, spend, and store their money, all without relying on centralized systems at the whims of dictators.

Btrust and Africa Free Routing | Announce Partnership to Advance African Bitcoin Development

Btrust, a nonprofit advancing Bitcoin development in Africa, awarded a grant to Africa Free Routing, a program within African Bitcoiners, to support five Bitcoin Lightning-focused developer boot camps across the continent in 2025. These bootcamps aim to onboard non-Bitcoin developers into the Bitcoin ecosystem, offering hands-on training, mentorship, and opportunities to contribute to open-source projects. This work strengthens the foundations of freedom tech in Africa, providing tools that allow people to resist financial repression under tyranny. Learn more about the partnership here.

Presidio Bitcoin | Hosting First Hackathon

Presidio Bitcoin, the Bay Area’s first dedicated freedom tech co-working and events space, just announced its first-ever hackathon, which will take place from May 16-17, 2025. This 24-hour hackathon in San Francisco brings together developers and technologists to build and collaborate at the frontier of Bitcoin, AI, and open-source technology. In addition to the hackathon, Presidio is launching a new program offering free three-month access to its workspace for Bitcoin open-source contributors. This is a valuable opportunity to connect with fellow developers, startup founders, and freedom tech advocates in the area. HRF is proud to sponsor this hackathon and is looking forward to how the outcomes might help create better freedom tools for dissidents worldwide. Learn more about the event here.

RECOMMENDED CONTENT

Bitcoin Nation State Adoption Paradox - Interview with Alex Gladstein

In a recent episode of the Bitcoin Fundamentals podcast, hosted by Preston Pysh, Alex Gladstein, HRF’s chief strategy officer, discusses the complexities of Bitcoin’s new era of adoption. He highlights the paradox where Bitcoin, a tool for individual financial freedom, is being adopted by governments, which some believe to be potentially compromising to its core principles. He emphasizes that while governments may adopt it for strategic or economic reasons, in doing so, they expose their populations to a technology that will ultimately weaken state control over money and advance individual liberty and human rights. Watch the full interview here.

Bitcoin Mining Centralization by b10c

In this report, Bitcoin developer and past HRF grantee b10c documents the growing trend of centralization in Bitcoin mining pools. It shows that over 95% of blocks are now mined by just six Bitcoin mining pools, with Foundry and AntPool controlling roughly 60–70% of the hashrate (the computing power dedicated to the Bitcoin network). This marks a rise in mining pool centralization in recent years. While this hasn’t harmed Bitcoin’s censorship resistance yet, it reduces the number of block template producers. This concentration of template producers poses a potential risk to Bitcoin’s neutrality, which is essential for ensuring access to uncensorable money and protecting human rights in autocratic regimes. HRF has happily supported both Hashpool and Public Pool with recent grants to support smaller, independent pools that help preserve Bitcoin's decentralization. Read the full report here.

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