Bitcoin and privacy tools like decentralized wallets are vital globally, especially in countries like Ethiopia, Cuba, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Pakistan, as they counter stat controlled financial systems and surveillance, protecting individual freedoms. These authoritarian trends, including digital currency crackdowns, threaten financial autonomy and free expression worldwide, making decentralized systems essential for safeguarding personal rights.
Based off the Financial Freedom Report #86, these things are going right now:
-Ethiopia’s Financial Intelligence Service froze the bank accounts of 138 individuals accused of illegal foreign currency trading outside the formal banking system, warning of severe legal consequences as part of a broader effort to curb parallel market activity and tighten state control over financial transactions.
-Cuba’s parallel market exchange rate hit a record low of 400 pesos per US dollar, reflecting a 94% devaluation in recent years, exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis where high inflation, stagnant peso wages, and a dollarized economy leave nearly 40% of Cubans without access to foreign currency needed for essential imports.
-A Tanzanian court banned live broadcasting of opposition leader Tundu Lissu’s treason trial, part of a broader crackdown that includes barring his CHADEMA party from October’s elections, outlawing foreign currency transactions, blocking X and Telegram, and overseeing high-profile kidnappings, stripping citizens of political voice and financial autonomy ahead of the polls.
-Rwanda’s central bank relaunched its retail CBDC initiative, inviting proposals through a national “ideathon” until September, aiming to enhance financial resilience and support a cashless transition, but critics warn it could enable dictator Paul Kagame to conduct mass surveillance, freeze accounts, and censor payments to suppress political opponents and dissidents.
-The State Bank of Pakistan is piloting a digital rupee CBDC with Japanese firm Soramitsu to enable cash-like transactions in underserved areas, while parliament drafts a bitcoin policy and the new Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority grants extensive oversight, raising concerns about increased surveillance, transaction monitoring, and suppression of dissent amid rising internet shutdowns and censorship.
Shoutout to nostr:nprofile1qqsptsvx769d3kvv8kt8v58gq6r9smd0ar2tqrr6yha97zlh2tarr8c37gsf9 and everything they do.