Worried about the future of the internet? Tor launches crypto-powered fundraising initiative to secure internet freedoms and your vote matters
more than your wallet size

Date:
Tue, 19 May 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Description:
Internet freedom is facing a funding crisis. Here is how the Tor Project's
new crypto-powered crowdfunding campaign aims to sustain vital privacy-preserving and anti-censorship tools through "quadratic funding."

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Tor Project and Funding the Commons launch a Web3-native crowdfunding The initiative seeks to support 10 internet freedom nonprofits People can donate to projects using cryptocurrencies until June 18, 2026 Internet freedom has been in decline for 15 consecutive years, the latest Freedom House report shows, with censorship and surveillance technology becoming increasingly pervasive. Meanwhile, the vital, open-source tools people rely on to stay safe online are facing systemic financial strain.

To combat this crisis, the Tor Project, the nonprofit behind the renowned Tor browser , has teamed up with Funding the Commons to launch a brand-new participatory funding campaign today. While everyday internet users might
rely on the best VPN s to mask their daily web traffic, activists, whistleblowers, and journalists in highly restricted regions depend on more specialized public-interest digital infrastructure. Unfortunately, financial pressures have forced many of these organizations to reduce staffing and
scale back technical operations. You may like Beyond no-log: Tor looks into seizure-proof servers that forget your data 'Iranians are resilient; they always find ways to speak:' How Iranians are overcoming unprecedented
internet censorship The Tor Project takes a major step toward launching its mobile VPN with successful Cure53 audit

This first-ever Web3-native, community-driven crowdfunding initiative is entirely dedicated to the internet freedom ecosystem. It aims to support 10 crucial nonprofit projects working across privacy, censorship circumvention, and secure communications.

People can now donate to these selected projects using various cryptocurrencies until June 18, 2026 and their picks matter more than their wallet size. The power of 'quadratic funding' The campaign is utilizing a unique, community-driven model called quadratic funding. Instead of a traditional setup where massive single donations dictate the success of a fundraiser, this model prioritizes the sheer volume of unique contributors.

A spokesperson for the initiative explained to TechRadar that such a model seeks to amplify funding based on community support.

Here, community members' donations act as votes on where funding should be allocated. A central matching pool then increases the amount projects receive using a formula that rewards those supported by the largest number of people, rather than just the highest value donations.

The spokesperson added a practical example: "Imagine there is a $10,000 matching pool and three projects each raise $1,000. One project receives donations from 2 people, another from 5 people, and another from 20 people. Even though all three projects raised the same amount, the project supported by 20 contributors receives the largest share of matching funds because it demonstrated the broadest community support." Tomorrow, were launching something new: a way to make small contributions go further than they
normally would.This only works if people show up. May 19.#FundInternetFreedom@SecureDrop @guardianproject @BPFreeSpeech @OpenObservatory @open_archive @unredacted_org pic.twitter.com/rpuDcDloqC May 18, 2026 The goal of quadratic funding is then to better capture what's
needed across the community, while encouraging participation from smaller contributors to maximise the impact of available funding. What to read next NordVPN and Internews join forces to defend journalists and activists Support global journalism and get a free NordVPN subscription here's how 2025 was
the worst year on record for internet shutdowns as censors move to more targeted blocks

As David Casey, Director of Funding the Commons, puts it: "Institutional
money follows community signals, not the other way around."

"Any donation moves the match pool, no matter the size, putting weight behind the projects Tor users rely on every day," Casey added.

Cake Wallet, Zcash Community Grants, Logos, and Octant have already provided
a central matching pool of $115,000 USD. This pool is distributed based on
how many individuals back a project. Backing the tools that matter The 10 projects benefiting from this initiative include heavy hitters like
SecureDrop (a secure whistleblower submission system), OnionShare (anonymous file sharing), and the Open Observatory of Network Interference (a global observatory documenting internet censorship and shutdowns).

Other vital tools receiving support include OpenArchive , Ricochet Refresh , Onion Browser , ASL19 , Unredacted , Miaan Group , and Osservatorio Nessuno .

Users looking to contribute can donate via Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Zcash (ZEC), Monero (XMR), and Golem (GLM).

The campaign runs until June 18, 2026, and is accessible via the clear web at internetfreedom.torproject.org or through its dedicated Onion Service . Today's best VPN deals NordVPN 2 Year 2.59 /mth View +3 months free Surfshark 24 Months 1.49 /mth View Proton VPN 24 Month 2.39 /mth View +4 MONTHS FREE ExpressVPN 24 month 1.99 /mth View PrivadoVPN - 24 Month Plan 1.11 /mth View We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/worried-about-the-future-of -the-internet-tor-launches-crypto-powered-fundraising-initiative-to-secure-int ernet-freedoms-and-your-vote-matters-more-than-your-wallet-size


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