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Per dollar for state enterprises and 120 pesos per dollar for the tourism industry will remain in place. Historically, multi tier exchange systems have fueled corruption and inequality by benefiting regime insiders while eroding ordinary citizens purchasing power. In context, the new rate will likely immediately result in higher prices across the country as inflation accelerates and further erodes the value of people's wages and savings. The move comes amid acute foreign currency shortages, collapsing tourism, fuel scarcity and rolling electrical blackouts. United Arab Emirates CBDC rolls out as free amid expanding financial surveillance the United Arab Emirates Central bank announced that the first phase of its digital dirham Central bank digital currency, or cbdc, will be offered free to users and small businesses, framing the rollout as a cost saving upgrade to payments. But free at launch does not mean neutral. As a direct central bank liability, the digital dirham gives the state full visibility into transactions and the power to impose future fees, conditions or negative interest rates once adoption is established. The News follows the UAE's first state to state CBD transaction conducted via the multi CBDC M Bridge platform, which links the UAE with China and other authoritarian states in a shared programmable settlement system. In context, this launch also comes alongside a recent regulatory decree that expands surveillance over digital assets through strict licensing requirements and places criminal penalties on unapproved financial tools like self custody wallets. Taken together, the free digital dirham appears less like a public good and more like an on ramp to deeper financial control conflict fueled by financial predation and resource capture. Sudan's civil war is increasingly sustained by resource capture and the financial gains of smuggling and trafficking networks. Armed factions fund their operations by smuggling gold, seizing oil infrastructure and diverting humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, civilians face rampant inflation, food shortages, blocked deliveries of life saving aid and a collapsed banking system. With formal finance largely inaccessible, survival now depends on informal markets, checkpoints and predatory fees imposed by armed groups. The war economy illustrates how financial breakdown and resource control can entrench repression and prolong conflict Bitcoin and Freedom Tech News Evento Open Source Wallet Released in Beta Evento, a Bitcoin and NOSTR event platform, launched the public beta of Evento Wallet, a fully open source, self custodial Bitcoin and Lightning Wallet built directly into the platform. First tested at BTRUST Developer Day in Mauritius, the wallet enables users to receive and send Lightning and on chain payments and send one another zaps tips in Bitcoin during a live event. It also supports buying and selling through recommended exchanges, earning satoshis from trusted partners and spending via Bitrefill gift cards. Why this Matters Embedding self custodial Bitcoin payments into open community coordination tools like Evento lowers the barrier for activists, pro democracy organizers and grassroots groups to pair freedom of assembly with the ability to earn, share and spend Money without permission. BTCPay Server Subscriptions and Monetization Added BTCPay Server, an open source and self custodial Bitcoin payment processor, introduced native subscriptions and a new monetization feature. The new subscriptions feature enables nonprofits and merchants to accept recurring donations or payments directly in Bitcoin, all natively within BTCPay server. The monetization feature lets users who already host a BTCPay server charge other users a recurring fee for server usage. Together, these drastically reduce barriers for nonprofits to accept Bitcoin as they no longer need to set up a server and can instead opt to use others while still maintaining self custody. Why this matters for nonprofits facing censorship, debanking or funding instability in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes, this Update enables recurring self custodial donations and reduces reliance on banks or payment processors, making fundraising more resilient, transparent and sustainable. The Lightning Network All Time High Capacity Reached Bitcoin's Lightning Network capacity reached a new all time high, surpassing 5600 BTC held in payment channels. Lightning is Bitcoin's fast, low cost payment layer designed for everyday transactions like remittances, donations and micropayments. Rising capacity signals growing use for people living under financial restrictions and repression. Lightning enables near instant cross border transfers without relying on banks or payment processors. Why this Matters A growing Lightning network means more liquidity, reliability and stronger censorship resistance. It shows Bitcoin evolving from a savings technology into a practical payment system that supports dissidents, nonprofits and everyday users operating outside authoritarian financial rails. Zeus Wallet Nostr Wallet Connect Support released Zeus A Bitcoin Lightning Wallet has integrated the NOSTR Wallet Connect or NWC protocol. This protocol allows apps to interact with Bitcoin Lightning Wallets, boosting interoperability between Bitcoin and Nostr. Zeus's NWC integration will enable users to link external wallets like Albi Hub or Kashuu Me, improving transaction flexibility. It also enables sending zaps tips via Bitcoin micropayments. Why this Matters for human rights defenders and civil society operating under censorship, zaps enable small permissionless payments and donations without relying on platforms or payment processors that dictators can coerce to monitor, block or seize funds. Bull Wallet Support for Foundation Hardware Wallet Added Bull Wallet has released a new update adding support for the Foundation Passport, an open source and air gapped Bitcoin hardware wallet. This allows users to buy Bitcoin directly through Bull Wallet and send it straight to a self custodial Passport device, mitigating counterparty risks of leaving funds on an exchange. Why this Matters the update strengthens options for long term self custody by combining Bull Wallet's non custodial purchasing flow with Passport's offline to the benefit of dissidents who need convenient and self controlled access to freedom money.