On April 10, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) announced the establishment of the Bitcoin Humanitarian Alliance, a collective of activists, humanitarian organizations, and pro-democracy movements utilizing Bitcoin (BTC) to advocate for civil rights and provide aid in economically oppressive regions.
This initiative unites frontline organizations operating in areas where financial systems are frequently manipulated to suppress dissent, monitor critics, freeze donations, and hinder humanitarian efforts.
The Alliance’s goal is to create a common platform for these organizations to share insights on employing Bitcoin as a tool that resists censorship.
Furthermore, it aims to enhance collaboration between humanitarian entities and Bitcoin developers to craft tools that tackle issues of privacy, accessibility, and survival in authoritarian contexts.
A Tool for Support and Resistance
The HRF stated that numerous authoritarian regimes misuse conventional banking infrastructures to limit financial access for opposition movements and aid organizations.
Countries like Nigeria, Venezuela, Russia, and China have seen activists ostracized from financial systems via blocked accounts, halted transfers, and focused surveillance. According to the HRF, Bitcoin serves as an alternative means for transferring value, maintaining privacy, and ensuring operational stability in such environments.
The Bitcoin Humanitarian Alliance aspires to formalize and broaden the use of Bitcoin in these scenarios by establishing a worldwide network of practitioners. The 13 founding members of the Alliance consist of activists from various regions, spanning from Latin America to Asia.
Moreover, members of the Alliance are currently utilizing Bitcoin to secure uncensorable donations, reliably compensate local personnel, and facilitate cross-border aid efforts without depending on centralized intermediaries. Some participants leverage Bitcoin to safeguard value in hyperinflationary economies or areas with strict capital regulations.
In the upcoming years, the Alliance plans to conduct workshops, host conferences, and create educational resources for nonprofit organizations interested in integrating Bitcoin into their work.
It also aims to document Bitcoin’s impact on providing financial resilience for dissidents and aid beneficiaries, making its discoveries available to media and policy-making bodies.
Ongoing Engagement with Bitcoin
The HRF highlighted the importance of distinguishing Bitcoin from the broader “crypto” ecosystem, emphasizing that BTC’s decentralized structure and fixed monetary policy provide distinct advantages for activists seeking financial neutrality.
The organization warned that other digital currencies, which might depend on centralized authorities or exhibit unstable governance structures, could reintroduce the threats that dissidents strive to evade.
The Bitcoin Humanitarian Alliance extends the HRF’s engagement with Bitcoin, which intensified in 2020 with the launch of the Bitcoin Development Fund.
Since its launch, the fund has distributed over $5.5 million across 174 grants to support open-source Bitcoin initiatives, including privacy-enhancing tools, custody solutions, and educational resources.
HRF has utilized the fund to back projects such as wallet development, Lightning infrastructure, and training programs aimed at civil society groups operating under oppressive regimes.