The Rise of Transnational Financial Repression

The Rise of Transnational Financial Repression

08.08.2026

Abusing legal tools, hostile governments reach across borders to persecute opponents. Imagine waking up to discover that your bank accounts have been blocked and your assets frozen. Shortly thereafter, you learn that your family’s private information, including banking, travel, and communication records, has been shared with a foreign government seeking to undermine your political freedoms […]

When The Financial System Can’t Reach People In Crisis, Bitcoin Can

When The Financial System Can’t Reach People In Crisis, Bitcoin Can

16.07.2026

(…) This compliance bottleneck can also paralyze global human rights groups. Lyudmyla Kozlovska, President of the Open Dialogue Foundation, says her organisation experienced this when platforms like PayPal, GoFundMe and Wise blocked their fundraising appeals for Ukraine during the critical first months of the 2022 Russian invasion. Using bitcoin, the foundation was able to bypass […]

OSCE PA Hosts First Hearing on Transnational Financial Repression

OSCE PA Hosts First Hearing on Transnational Financial Repression

09.07.2026

Authoritarian regimes, including states already under Western sanctions, exploit anti-money laundering rules, INTERPOL’s notice systems, and mutual legal assistance treaties to freeze accounts, access private data, and destroy the livelihoods of their critics in democratic countries. The system allows it because it was built on an assumption of good faith that no longer holds. On […]

MEPs condemn regimes that pursue critics abroad

MEPs condemn regimes that pursue critics abroad

16.06.2026

Read the full article: euractiv.com

Fourth Episode of Cypher Tank: Space for Non-Profit Startups

Fourth Episode of Cypher Tank: Space for Non-Profit Startups

25.02.2026

The penultimate episode of the Bitcoin web series dedicated to startups is now online. For the first time, non-profit projects take center stage: three initiatives competing to defend privacy, human rights, and the integrity of public documents through decentralized technologies and Bitcoin. After three episodes dedicated to for-profit startups, which we covered in recent weeks, […]

Open Dialogue Foundation Joins Bitcoin News to Discuss Bitcoin’s Role in Defending Human Rights

Open Dialogue Foundation Joins Bitcoin News to Discuss Bitcoin’s Role in Defending Human Rights

06.10.2025

The Open Dialogue Foundation recently sat down with Bitcoin News to share how Bitcoin is being used as a lifeline against financial repression. In the interview, our president Lyudmyla Kozlovska described how authoritarian regimes weaponize financial systems to silence activists, and how Bitcoin in self-custody remains one of the few tools that enables humanitarian aid, […]

Submission on the Retention of Data by Service Providers for Use in EU Criminal Proceedings

Submission on the Retention of Data by Service Providers for Use in EU Criminal Proceedings

12.09.2025

Executive Summary This submission responds to the European Commission’s consultation on data retention by service providers for criminal proceedings. The Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) recognises the importance of effective tools for criminal investigations but strongly emphasises that blanket or indiscriminate data retention is unlawful, disproportionate, and ineffective, as repeatedly confirmed by the Court of Justice […]

Lyudmyla Kozlovska Warns: Authoritarians Hijacking Financial Surveillance

Lyudmyla Kozlovska Warns: Authoritarians Hijacking Financial Surveillance

29.07.2025

“Every single country right now can weaponize data. Every single citizen can be easily weaponized — through their travel data, communication, and financial data. This must be fixed immediately.” urged Lyudmyla Kozlovska. The President of the Open Dialogue Foundation, in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, explained how digital currency is becoming a key tool for […]

ODF President Kozlovska Warns: Authoritarians Hijacking Financial Surveillance | Bitcoin Politics

ODF President Kozlovska Warns: Authoritarians Hijacking Financial Surveillance | Bitcoin Politics

29.07.2025

Authoritarians are weaponizing financial surveillance — and human rights activist Lyudmyla Kozlovska is fighting back. In this interview, Bitcoin Magazine Political Correspondent Frank Corva speaks with Kozlovska, President of the Open Dialogue Foundation, on how KYC/AML regulations are being misused to target dissidents, freeze aid, and enable global repression. From FATF overreach to the real […]

“The Next Evolution of Privacy”: Bota Jardemalie on How Technology Can Protect Against Repression

“The Next Evolution of Privacy”: Bota Jardemalie on How Technology Can Protect Against Repression

09.12.2024

In December 2024, a conference organised by the Blockchain for Europe association took place in Brussels, where key issues regarding the future of digital privacy were the main topic. The panel discussion entitled “The next evolution of privacy – Is the world ready?” featured Bota Jardemalie, a representative of the Open Dialogue Foundation and a […]

How Dictators Use Financial Repression Against Their Opponents

How Dictators Use Financial Repression Against Their Opponents

20.11.2024

Read the full article: journalofdemocracy.org

Select the amount of a one-time donation in Bitcoin