Alex Gladstein is chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation, vice president of strategy for the Oslo Freedom Forum and the preeminent advocate for Bitcoin as a tool for human rights activists around the world to fight back against censorship and government oppression.
In June 2020, it launched the Bitcoin Development Fund to support software developers working to strengthen the Bitcoin network so that it can serve as a financial tool for human rights activists, civil society organizations and journalists around the world.
In 2009, Gladstein helped launch the Oslo Freedom Forum, HRF’s series of conferences under the slogan “Challenging Power.” HRF began holding bitcoin-human rights workshops in 2017, connecting global activists with philanthropists, policymakers, artists and innovators.
The first half kind of reads like the United States’ Bill of Rights – it includes the freedom of speech and thought, private property and freedom to participate in your government.
If a dictatorship claims to just focus on the entitlements – it’s taking a shortcut and it’s all just a house of cards.
HRF supports the research of the Open Money Initiative, and last year, we launched a fund that gives money away to developers that are helping the Bitcoin network become more secure, resilient and offer better privacy for users.
Activists in many countries have major problems with money – either they live under double or triple-digit inflation, or governments are easily able to surveil and shutter their bank accounts.
In Belarus, the opposition movement is using bitcoin to support pro-democracy activists because it’s the safest way for them to receive money.
I would encourage newcomers to spend a few months developing a solid understanding of why Bitcoin is different – why Bitcoin is the revolution.
The best way to support HRF’s work is to give back to Bitcoin developers who are improving the network and making Bitcoin more decentralized and resilient.
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