Financial Freedom Report #98

By HRF in bitcoin — Nov 21, 2025

Good morning, readers!

In Indonesia, the government introduced a bill to redenominate the rupiah currency following a sharp decline in purchasing power.

In freedom tech news, BULL Wallet integrated support for the open-source and customizable SeedSigner hardware wallet, expanding access to permissionless, censorship-resistant self-custody tools for human rights defenders in authoritarian regimes.

We end with the latest installment of the HRF x PubKey Freedom Tech Series, where HRF’s Femi Longe and Christian Keroles explain how the Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF) helps sustain the global builders creating the permissionless and privacy-preserving tools on which dissidents increasingly depend.

Now, let’s dive into the full stories.

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GLOBAL NEWS

Indonesia | Government Plans Rupiah Redenomination Bill

Indonesia’s Finance Ministry is planning a new bill to redenominate the rupiah by removing three zeros as part of a broader effort to improve the currency’s credibility. The plan, outlined in the ministry’s 2025–2029 strategy, follows decades of inflation that have steadily eroded the rupiah’s value. The rupiah hit a record low against the US dollar earlier this year, and today, a 100,000-rupiah note is worth only about $6. A numerical adjustment, however, would do little to address the root causes of the rupiah’s purchasing power. Such a cosmetic fix could obscure the real costs of economic mismanagement while doing little to restore long-term stability to Indonesians.

Tanzania | Bitcoin Becomes a Bridge During Internet Blackout

After the Tanzanian regime imposed a five-day internet shutdown starting on the day of the country’s Oct. 29 elections, many were caught in protests without cash or means of communicating with family. After mobile money and cross-border remittance apps faced network interruptions, one Tanzanian living in Kenya turned to Bitcoin to facilitate transportation to get his mother to safety. Using her existing Lightning wallet and the Lightning app Tando, which converts Bitcoin into mobile money via M-PESA, she was able to cover her immediate needs and arrange safe transport to Kenya.

United Arab Emirates | First CBDC Transaction Completed

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) completed its first government-to-government transaction with its Digital Dirham central bank digital currency (CBDC). This initiative was part of the CBDC’s pilot phase and was implemented using the mBridge platform. Officials say this marks a move toward domestic rollout, with more widespread adoption planned across both public and private sectors. The UAE deploys an extensive and sophisticated surveillance tool system across public spaces and digital communications, raising concerns that placing transactions on a state-controlled CBDC ledger would further centralize visibility over everyday financial activity.

In Context: Project mBridge connects the CBDCs of China, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and Thailand into a unified, programmable settlement system. Designed to give central banks real-time visibility and control over cross-border flows, the surveillance-ready platform risks exporting the financial governance model of authoritarian states.

Russia | Authorities Prosecute Online Searches and Restrict Internet Access

Russian officials launched their first prosecution for an “illegal Internet search,” detaining a medical student for looking up information about pro-Ukrainian paramilitary groups designated as extremist in Russia. The student’s defense attorney has suggested that law enforcement obtained browsing data from mobile provider T2, though the company denies handing over his search history. As Putin’s regime tightens its grip on the digital space, authorities also enacted mobile internet blackouts in regions across the country, including St. Petersburg. Residents were largely cut off from banking, messaging, and other online services. Officials ordered that mobile internet services be restricted indefinitely in parts of the Ulyanovsk region until the end of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

BITCOIN AND FREEDOM TECH NEWS

BULL Wallet | SeedSigner Support Added

BULL Wallet, an open-source, self-custody Bitcoin wallet that includes serverless PayJoin for improved privacy, now offers full support for SeedSigner. SeedSigner is a DIY, air-gapped hardware wallet built entirely from open-source components. With the wallet integration, BULL users can make payments using Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions (PSBTs) and interact with SeedSigner through QR codes, ensuring private keys remain offline and the signing process stays fully secure.

Why this matters: In authoritarian environments, name-brand hardware wallets are difficult to access or carry risk. Adding support for unbranded, open-source signing devices strengthens the global self-custody toolkit for human rights defenders and everyday users alike.

Lightning Dev Kit | Splicing and Asynchronous Payments Added

The Lightning Dev Kit (LDK) released v0.2.0 of rust-lightning, which introduces splicing and asynchronous payments for BOLT 12 offers. Splicing allows a user to add or remove funds from a Lightning channel without closing it (like topping up a prepaid phone plan while staying online), making Lightning more flexible and cheaper to use. Asynchronous payments enable users or apps to send and receive Lightning payments even when one party is offline, improving reliability and censorship resistance in regions with unstable connectivity. This LDK update is expected to be compatible with popular Lightning implementations, such as Eclair and future versions of Core Lightning Network.

Why this matters: Splicing and asynchronous payment features help ensure Bitcoin remains usable for people under bandwidth constraints, censorship pressure, or unreliable financial rails.

Breez | Spark Supports Privacy Mode and Nostr Zaps

Breez, a company building on the Lightning Network, released its latest update to its Spark Software Development Kit (SDK), which focuses on privacy and censorship-resistant funding. Private mode is now enabled by default, which claims to prevent balance and transaction data from being exposed to public blockchain explorers. The SDK also adds support for Nostr zaps, enabling apps to send and receive permissionless Lightning tips associated with Nostr posts and identities. This is especially useful for activists and organizations wanting to receive donations discreetly (like a virtual tip jar).

Why this matters: These features may help wallets offer safer defaults for dissidents and journalists operating under surveillance, while enabling new avenues for uncensorable donations in difficult political environments.

256 Foundation | Mujina Mining Software Released

The 256 Foundation released the Mujina Mining software, a new open-source software for application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) Bitcoin miners. Part of the broader Mujina OS project, the software is designed to be compatible across different mining boards, allowing users to mix and match hardware, swap boards without rebooting, and control mining operations. Current support includes the Bitaxe Gamma, but support for any ASIC is planned for a future release.

Why this matters: Open-source mining software reduces reliance on proprietary systems dominated by a handful of manufacturers. Lowering the technical barriers to understanding and modifying mining hardware helps decentralize Bitcoin’s mining ecosystem, strengthening its resilience for dissidents and communities who rely on it.

My First Bitcoin | From Local Program to Global Education Network

My First Bitcoin, an independent Bitcoin education initiative, announced its expansion as a global network supporting Bitcoin educators worldwide. After teaching more than 27,000 students, the organization will now focus on developing open-source curricula, toolkits, and training programs that communities around the world can use to launch their own education efforts. As part of the transition, My First Bitcoin is expanding its global Node Network of independent educators across 38 countries.

Why this matters: Providing ready-to-use, open-source Bitcoin education materials lowers the barrier for communities in authoritarian environments to spin up local Bitcoin classes, meetups, and projects to advance financial freedom.