Alex Gladstein is an author and chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), an organization working on human rights. He wrote Check Your Financial Privilege and Hidden Repression. He presents Bitcoin primarily as a payment option for people whose access to money is restricted by a state or financial intermediary. Understanding his perspective also means recognizing what the network alone cannot provide: protection of identity, conversion into local currency, or personal safety.
A straightforward connection runs through Gladstein’s work: the ability to speak and organize also depends on being able to pay for rent, equipment, or help for others. His role at HRF and his books Check Your Financial Privilege and Hidden Repression explain why he approaches Bitcoin through these practical needs. He writes about and advocates a particular view of money. His position does not, however, give him authority to change Bitcoin’s rules; those rules are not instructions issued by a human rights organization. [1]
In his October 2025 essay Why Bitcoin Is Freedom Money, Gladstein discusses frozen accounts and funding for civil society organizations. Consider the basic problem: a supporter wants to help, an organization needs the money, but an intermediary blocks the transfer. Gladstein argues that Bitcoin offers another route, one that need not pass through the same account provider. This is the core of his financial freedom argument. Money arriving can overcome a specific obstacle; it does not by itself establish that the recipient is safe or that the organization will achieve its goal. [1]
A recipient need not hold Bitcoin in the hope that its price will rise. Gladstein distinguishes moving value from saving over the long term: after receiving it, someone can look for a way to exchange or spend it. In our illustrative example, a donor sends bitcoin worth 100 USD. The exchange rate may change before the organization converts it. Transaction confirmation means inclusion in a block; it does not guarantee the same purchasing power or an available buyer. For someone paying expenses, the whole journey to usable local money or goods matters. [1]
Receiving a payment without a bank account provider does not automatically make it anonymous. Bitcoin.org explains that transactions form a public, permanently accessible history. By publishing a donation address, an organization associates that address with its name. An observer can then examine its transactions and look for connections to other transfers. The network property called censorship resistance therefore does not imply that donors or recipients cannot be traced. Privacy also depends on how people use tools and which information they disclose about themselves. [3]
HRF announced the Bitcoin Development Fund on 11 June 2020. Its first named recipient was Chris Belcher, working on CoinSwap, an approach to improving transaction privacy. Gladstein also acknowledged in the announcement that Bitcoin needed better privacy and usability. The fund connects the human rights argument with practical technical work: telling people that another payment network exists is not enough if they cannot use it safely. A grant supports that work; it does not certify that a tool is finished and safe in every situation. [2]
Funding is a beginning; we have to look further for results. The fund’s announcement describes support for individuals and projects. Grant counts and amounts distributed therefore tell us how much work received support, not automatically how many people a tool helped or protected from interference. That requires evidence of what was built, who used it, and what happened. An organization’s own report can be useful evidence, but it is not an independent audit of its impact. [2]
BTCPay Server enables organizations to receive bitcoin payments. In one setup, the server generates addresses and watches payments into a connected wallet without holding its private key, the secret used to sign spending transactions. That key can remain off the server. Another setup uses a hot wallet, with keys on an internet-connected device; operating Lightning can also require permissions to control funds. The product name alone therefore does not tell you who can spend the money. A working payment page and secure wallet management are related but distinct tasks. [4]
Gladstein introduces particular people and their circumstances, making an abstract discussion of money easier to picture. While reading, notice who describes the experience, what the author concludes from it, and whether circumstances later changed. An individual case can show that a particular route worked; a selection of success stories is not a survey representing all users. Equally, silence about difficulties does not establish that there were none. Read this way, his work can illuminate people’s needs while preserving a precise understanding of what the technology can do. [1]
For the clearest picture, read this entry together with Check Your Financial Privilege, Jeff Booth, Self-custody. The reverse links also lead from Jimmy Song, Check Your Financial Privilege.