Freedom Tech (w/ Human Rights Foundation)

Berta Valle⁠⁠ is a Nicaraguan journalist and vocal critic of the Daniel Ortega regime. She is married to pro-democracy activist and former presidential candidate, Félix Maradiaga, who was imprisoned in an unprecedented crackdown on the opposition prior to the 2021 elections.

In this episode, Berta sits down with HRF Financial Freedom Operations Lead ⁠Arsh Molu⁠⁠ (Financial Freedom at the Human Rights Foundation) to discuss the harsh realities of oppression, the resilience of the Nicaraguan people, and how—in the face of financial lockdown—freedom tech is becoming a lifeline for bypassing censorship and delivering much-needed aid.

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ABOUT FREEDOM TECH:

Each month, the ⁠⁠⁠Human Rights Foundation⁠⁠⁠ and PubKey dive into specific HRF initiatives with a focus on how Bitcoin and freedom tech will advance humanitarian goals.

These events are FREE and open to the public.

Evan Mawarire is a Zimbabwean pastor-turned-activist who led a peaceful uprising against dictator Robert Mugabe. In this episode, Evan sits down with HRF Content & Research Lead Ayelen Osorio to discuss Zimbabwe’s struggle with hyperinflation, the introduction of multiple currencies, and the regime’s financial repression tactics—and how freedom technologies are offering a lifeline to people in fragile economies and authoritarian regimes worldwide.

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ABOUT FREEDOM TECH:

Each month, the ⁠Human Rights Foundation⁠ and PubKey dive into specific HRF initiatives with a focus on how Bitcoin and freedom tech will advance humanitarian goals.

These events are FREE and open to the public.

Recorded on April 3rd, 2025 at PubKey NYC.

Jason Maier is the author of A Progressive's Case for Bitcoin. In this episode, Jason discusses his research and advocacy in a fireside chat with HRF Research Associate Zac Guignard, with audience Q&A to follow.

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ABOUT FREEDOM TECH:

Each month, the Human Rights Foundation and PubKey dive into specific HRF initiatives with a focus on how Bitcoin and freedom tech will advance humanitarian goals.

These events are FREE and open to the public.

Recorded on March 6th, 2025 at PubKey NYC.

Anna will discuss her background as an activist, from Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation to her current role at HRF, where she assists nonprofit organizations in accepting and using bitcoin.

Jorge is the President of the Economic Inclusion Group, a policy group advancing economic and financial inclusion globally. Jorge is known for his work advocating in G7 countries for financial reforms to guarantee a “Right to Banking” for immigrants and human rights defenders. Jorge is also an influential voice in his home country, Venezuela, pushing for greater political and economic freedoms.

Leading the conversation will be Arsh Molu, Financial Freedom Operations Lead at the Human Rights Foundation.

Troy Cross, a professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Reed College. Troy has been involved in bitcoin for over a decade, with a focus on the study of the present and future environmental impact of bitcoin mining. Troy is a fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, co-founder of The Nakamoto Project, and serves as Advisory Board Member to several companies in the bitcoin mining, data center, and the renewable energy industries.

Troy will discuss his research and advocacy in a fireside chat with HRF Research Associate Zac Guignard with audience Q&A to follow.

Gloria is a Bitcoin Core maintainer, primarily focused on the peer-to-peer protocol. Her projects include package relay (BIP 331) and TRUC (BIP 431), aimed at reducing censorship vectors and fee-bumping inefficiencies in transaction relay. She is sponsored by Brink, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting open source Bitcoin development.

Bitcoin Core maintainers are a small (and often misunderstood) group who are responsible for merging contributions from other developers into the codebase.

Gloria will discuss threats to Bitcoin, past, present and future, why she chose to pursue grant-funded development over a corporate position, and how her views on privacy and the need for censorship-resistant payments drive her work.

 Roger Huang, a longtime observer on the subject of Bitcoin in China and regular contributor to Forbes, Bitcoin Magazine, and many other platforms. Elisha Maldonado, HRF’s Director of communications and co-host of the Dissidents & Dictators podcast will conduct the interview.

Roger Huang’s Would Mao Hold Bitcoin? is the authoritative resource exploring Bitcoin’s disruptive intersection with Chinese history. Huang not only pulls back the curtain on the specifics of the history, characters, and story, but on the larger questions that arise from the clash between state-driven Chinese tech and the open source development that is Bitcoin.

Faisal Al Mutar

Faisal Saeed Al Mutar is an Iraqi-American human-rights activist and social entrepreneur. He experienced the villainy of extremism and authoritarian regimes firsthand, surviving the Iraq War, the murder of his brother, and several kidnapping attempts before becoming a refugee in the United States in 2013.

A practitioner of countering extremism and misinformation, he founded the organization Ideas Beyond Borders, a nonprofit dedicated to developing and implementing international programs to empower individuals with knowledge often suppressed by authoritarian dictatorships. Faisal received the President’s Volunteer Service Award from President Barack Obama, the Beacon Award from the Ellis Island Honors Society, and currently serves on the leadership council at the World Liberty Congress.

Anna Chekhovich

Anna Chekhovich is the former financial director of Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) from Russia. Targeted by Putin’s regime, the foundation gradually lost access to financial institutions. In 2015, the Russian government began blocking the bank accounts of various foundations, even those very loosely connected to the FBK. Navalny and his family also had their personal accounts frozen as did many people who worked on the FBK team. Anna was de-banked multiple times by Putin’s regime and turned to bitcoin for its anti-censorship aspects to circumvent Russian financial surveillance, control, and confiscation.

Anna Chekhovich joined HRF in 2024 as the nonprofit bitcoin adoption lead. For Anna, bitcoin is the preferred financial system as it safeguards democracy and activism and provides a lifeline when traditional financial systems oppress such movements.