Through the Bitcoin Development Fund, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has given 20 BTC (around $475,000) to 10 international projects. With a focus on Africa and Southeast Asia, the funding will assist initiatives including censorship-resistant communication, Bitcoin education in authoritarian regimes, core development, and building local communities. 

$100,000 was awarded to Qala, a fellowship program that trains the next generation of African Bitcoin and Lightning developers, to continue its 13-week fellowship and sponsor the attendance of six Qala fellows at the Oslo Freedom Forum.

The HRF has also given $50,000 to William Casarin for his work on Nostr, a censorship-resistant, open-source, and decentralized social network platform, and $75,000 to the Africa Bitcoin Conference, the largest Bitcoin-focused conference in Africa.

$50,000 was also donated to Bitcoin for Fairness, an organization dedicated to promoting Bitcoin among disadvantaged communities and authoritarian states. Vasil Dimov, one of the top 20 Bitcoin Core contributors, received $50,000 to help maintain the stability and development of the Bitcoin protocol.

Four $25,000 grants were given to Ekenimoh Elyan for EasePay, Exomunia to expand Bitcoin educational resources, Wallet Scrutiny contributor Emmanuel Bronshtein for his work on Wallet Scrutiny, and Bitcoin Myanmar for financial freedom education in Burma.

Since 2020, HRF has given more than $2.2 million in BTC and USD to more than 70 developers, educators, and open-source organizations across the world. The Bitcoin Development Fund is still being supported by HRF, and the next round of donations will be announced in May 2023.

Chief Strategy Officer of HRF Alex Gladstein stated:

We are proud to support the amazing work of these individuals and organizations who are using Bitcoin to fight for human rights and freedom, especially in regions where it’s needed most.
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