Reporting by Susie Violet Ward · Topic guide
For people facing authoritarian governments, war or currency collapse, holding and moving money without permission can be a matter of safety. This page gathers Susie Violet Ward's reporting on human rights, censorship and financial access, grouped by issue with the newest articles first. Bitcoin Policy UK's related policy work is listed separately at the end.
Governments that want to silence critics often target their money as well as their speech, by freezing accounts, blocking donations or cutting internet access. Open protocols such as Nostr aim to make that harder.
A documentary about Julian Assange that turned to Bitcoin and Nostr after streaming platforms declined to show it.
Activists facing internet shutdowns, spyware and debanking, and the tools they use to keep organising.
Jack Dorsey on Nostr as a censorship-resistant protocol for free speech.
Activists at the Human Rights Foundation's Oslo Freedom Forum on using Bitcoin against authoritarian rule.
The cases of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, and what they mean for privacy and financial autonomy.
Keynotes from Edward Snowden and Stella Assange at Bitcoin Amsterdam on censorship and permissionless tools.
Bitcoin Amsterdam 2023, where censorship was a central theme.
A column on Nostr as a way to make censorship-resistant social media practical.
When banks close, currencies collapse or payment platforms will not operate in a country, people can lose their savings and access to help from abroad.
Why fundraising for a family in Gaza stalled, and how Bitcoin platforms approach the same problem while keeping verification checks.
How Lebanon's banking collapse cut people off from their savings, and how some turned to Bitcoin.
Research into Lightning payments without an internet connection, for places with poor connectivity or hit by disaster.
High remittance fees, unstable currencies and limited banking make everyday finance expensive in many emerging economies. The World Bank reports that sub-Saharan Africa has the highest remittance costs in the world.
Builders and educators at the African Bitcoin Conference in Mauritius, and the problems they are working on.
Bitcoin-based community and education projects in El Salvador and South America.
Strike's expansion of Bitcoin services to seven African countries.
Fedimint and Cashu, which let communities run their own Bitcoin-based banks.
Bitcoin Dada, a Human Rights Foundation-backed initiative teaching Bitcoin to African women.
Why Bitcoin gained ground in economies where banks are hard to reach and currencies are unstable.
Why young Africans facing high bank charges and political interference have turned to Bitcoin.
Machankura, which lets people use Bitcoin over SMS without internet access or a smartphone.
Bitcoin's value as a tool for freedom depends on it remaining open and difficult for any single party to control.
Whether US dominance of mining and a strategic reserve could make Bitcoin transactions easier to censor.
A column on the humanitarian vision behind Bitcoin and the people it was meant to help.
Bitcoin Policy UK's organisational work, not journalism. Susie Violet Ward is the organisation's Co-Founder and CEO. Full list: Policy & Consultation Work.
Evidence to a parliamentary inquiry on debanking, calling for individual risk-based assessment, and a specific reason and an appeal route when a payment is declined or an account closed.
Practical steps to protect the freedom to speak and transact online, from messaging and VPNs to buying Bitcoin privately.
Presents Bitcoin as a strategic opportunity for the UK, including its potential in humanitarian work against authoritarian regimes.