HRF Drops 1.5 Billion Sats to Fund 26 Projects on the Frontlines of Bitcoin Freedom Tech

The Human Rights Foundation just emptied 1.5 billion sats into its Bitcoin Development Fund like someone finally remembering their crypto resolution. The grants are backing 26 projects worldwide that are building the infrastructure, privacy tools, and educational programs needed to keep Bitcoin free and accessible for those who need it most—because apparently some of us still need convincing that financial sovereignty matters.

From privacy-enhancing Bitcoin Core development to grassroots education hubs in developing regions, the grants support open-source developers, researchers, and educators working across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Think of it as a global help-wanted ad for degens with a conscience.

Here's the full rundown of who's getting funded:

Privacy & Infrastructure

Bitcoin Core developer Naiyoma is grinding full-time on P2P privacy enhancements that make it harder to track nodes across multiple networks. The goal? Helping activists and everyday users run Bitcoin infrastructure more safely in surveilled environments. Because nothing says "I hate your surveillance" quite like making your node traffic look like everyone's node traffic.

JoinMarket-NG is a new CoinJoin implementation using a peer-to-peer liquidity market where users can pay for increased privacy or earn fees providing liquidity. It's basically a privacy market, complete with liquidity providers who get paid to make your transactions confusing to chain analysts. The grant covers development and external security audits.

Bitcoin developer doblon8 is improving Sparrow Wallet's air-gapped signing feature by replacing outdated QR code scanning software with faster, more reliable code. This makes it safer for human rights defenders to manage their bitcoin without internet exposure—because the best hack is the one where hackers can't see your keys.

Regional Payments

Banxaas, built by developer Nourou in West Africa, lets people instantly exchange between CFA franc and bitcoin without accounts or banks. The grant finalizes mobile app development and expands mobile money integrations. No KYC, no problems—just sound money doing its thing where the legacy system already failed.

ChapSmart, a Lightning-to-M-Pesa bridge built by Brian Mosha in Tanzania, helps locals send remittances and access bitcoin affordably. The project supports development, outreach, and education under Tanzania's increasingly authoritarian regime. Because sometimes the Lightning Network needs to carry more than just podcast sats.

Minmo connects users with trusted local agents for fiat-to-bitcoin exchanges, bypassing centralized platforms that pose surveillance risks for activists under dictatorships. It's like a P2P marketplace, but for people who actually need P2P.

Tando, founded by Sabina Waithira Gitau in Kenya, lets users pay merchants with bitcoin while merchants receive Kenyan shillings via M-PESA integration. The grant supports regional expansion. Users get to HODL, merchants get paid in currency they can actually spend. Everyone wins except the inflation goblins.

Tapnob allows users in Africa to buy bitcoin via local bank transfers and convert only what's needed into local currency for daily expenses, keeping savings in bitcoin. The grant supports continental expansion and educational resources. Dollar-cost averaging your way out of currency debasement, one sats at a time.

Education & Development

rawBit offers a free, open-source visual editor letting developers build and inspect raw transactions with drag-and-drop tools. The grant adds modules on Taproot and Lightning Network. Because understanding Bitcoin shouldn't require a CS degree from MIT—though if you have one, more power to you.

Summer of Bitcoin provides global internships pairing students with mentors for Bitcoin development and design contributions. The grant covers student stipends and mentorship compensation. Yes, you can get paid in sats to learn about Bitcoin. No, your parents still won't understand what you do.

Krux is open-source software that transforms widely available devices into secure Bitcoin signing devices, supporting offline transactions in 10 languages. Developer Odudex receives support for refinements. It's basically the DIY Bitcoin security movement for people who read the documentation.

SeedSigner contributor Easy is creating a step-by-step user guide to help newcomers build their own hardware wallets from inexpensive components. Because the best hardware wallet is the one you built yourself, soldered together in your basement, and definitely didn't accidentally set on fire during testing.

DIYbitcoin builds a multilingual library of visual guides for building Bitcoin hardware using open-source software and affordable components, targeting communities across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Think of it as Bitcoin's free community college, no tuition required.

Community Hubs

Bitcoin Benin is building a physical Bitcoin Knowledge Hub and co-working space in Benin, plus the 2026 Bitcoin Mastermind conference with workshops expected to reach over 1,000 participants. A physical space where people can learn about sound money in a place where sound money is most needed? Be still our hearts.

Bitcoin House Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, founded by Nostr developer Shaun Time, offers hands-on learning for students exploring Bitcoin and open-source technologies for free expression and financial autonomy. Nostr meets Nostr-builds community. The circle of developer life continues.

Yes Bitcoin Haiti is building a circular economy where locals can earn, spend, and save in bitcoin, plus educational outreach to human rights defenders under persistent currency instability. Because when your currency's inflation makes Zimbabwe look stable, bitcoin starts looking real attractive.

Research & Advocacy

NetBlocks, founded by Alp Toker, tracks and documents internet shutdowns by authoritarian regimes in real time, creating a global record of digital censorship. Someone has to call out when governments pull the internet plug, and apparently that someone is us.

The Activist Atlas, created by Cato Policy Analyst Nick Anthony and Bitcoin educator Paco de la India, is an interactive platform helping changemakers discover each other's work and coordinate year-round using Bitcoin for donations and Nostr for secure communication. It's like LinkedIn for freedom fighters, but without the recruiters asking if you're "open to opportunities."

AmityAge's Bitcoin Educators Academy trains local educators to teach financial sovereignty under repression. The grant funds five academies training 75 educators in soft skills and communication for teaching self-custody. Because knowing how to use Bitcoin is one thing; explaining it to people who've never heard of it is another entirely.

Base58 will publish research analyzing how funding sources shape open-source contributions to Bitcoin, examining whether funding influences development independence