The Human Rights Foundation (HRF), a New York-based non-profit organization, has once again provided cryptocurrency grants to various global projects. The foundation awarded seven Bitcoins worth $706,000 to 20 different projects aimed at supporting people living under oppressive governments. This year’s grant is significantly larger than the previous funding released by HRF in 2022, with a total of $325,000 granted then.
The beneficiaries of the crypto development fund are projects in countries with authoritarian governments in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. The projects focus on technical education for individuals living under oppressive regimes, supporting independent media outlets, decentralizing mining, and providing human rights groups with more private financial solutions. While the organization stated that 20 grantees will share the grant of $706,000 worth of BTC, it did not disclose how much each project would receive.
One of the grant recipients is the Stratum V2 Reference Implementation (SRI), an open-source software that decentralizes Bitcoin mining by allowing nodes to construct their own block templates. The project advocates for solo mining and less dependence on large mining pools, reinforcing the cryptocurrency’s permissionless and censorship-resistant characteristics. Another grant recipient is Naiyoma, Africa’s first female Bitcoin Core developer from Kenya, working towards advancing an open financial system rooted in transparency, freedom, and fairness.
The funding provided by HRF will support developer Bit-aloo’s full-time work on SRI, including the development of benchmarking tools to evaluate performance, integration tests, codebase maintenance, and software documentation. Naiyoma, the recipient from Kenya, will benefit from the grant as she continues to advocate for the advancement of Bitcoin Core. HRF believes in supporting Bitcoin for its potential to combat oppressive governments and empower individuals with financial freedom.
In conclusion, the Human Rights Foundation’s latest round of cryptocurrency grants will support 20 different projects across the globe aimed at promoting human rights under oppressive regimes. The significant increase in funding compared to previous years reflects the organization’s commitment to leveraging technology, such as Bitcoin, to empower individuals and promote freedom. By supporting projects that focus on technical education, media independence, decentralization, and financial privacy, HRF is contributing to the advancement of human rights in regions with authoritarian governments. The grants awarded to the Stratum V2 Reference Implementation and Naiyoma highlight the importance of decentralized solutions and diversity in the cryptocurrency space.
