A coalition of privacy and internet‑freedom groups led by the Tor Project has launched a new crypto funding campaign to support censorship‑resistant digital infrastructure. The campaign, the first Web3 crowdfunding drive for internet‑freedom tools, aims to back 10 nonprofit projects worldwide that are responding to growing internet controls.
On the 19th, CoinDesk reported that the campaign accepts donations in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Zcash (ZEC), Monero (XMR) and Golem (GLM). The Tor Project and Funding the Commons are leading the effort. A US$115,000 (approximately 153,333,333 KRW) matching pool provided by Cake Wallet (CAKE), the Zcash Community Grants, Logos, and Octant will boost contributions. Donations run through June 18.
The campaign uses quadratic funding, which gives greater weight to many small donations than to a few large ones. For example, ten people giving US$10 (approximately 13,333 KRW) each will have more influence than a single US$100 (approximately 133,333 KRW) gift. David Casey, director of Funding the Commons, said, “The Web3 solution is to let funds flow according to community signals, not institutional money.”
Tor sees a natural fit with the crypto community. Pavel Jonef, Tor Project communications director, said, “Internet‑freedom projects are inherently designed to protect privacy, and privacy coins like Zcash and Monero protect financial privacy.” Al Smith, Tor’s fundraising director, added that “more than 60% of Bitcoin nodes use Onion Services,” underscoring the existing overlap.
The campaign responds to a global decline in internet freedom. Freedom House found that conditions worsened in roughly 40% of the 72 countries it surveyed in 2025, marking the 15th consecutive year of backsliding. In Asia, ten countries—including China, India, North Korea, Thailand and Myanmar—introduced more than 50 new restrictive measures, affecting about 2 billion people. The U.S. raised concerns when it left the Freedom Online Coalition in January.
Isabella Fernandez, executive director of the Tor Project, said, “We have a range of funding sources, but small projects struggle to survive in the current environment,” stressing the need to support the broader ecosystem. With some countries now blocking or punishing VPN use, alternative infrastructure to bypass censorship and enable safe communication has become increasingly important.
This crypto fundraising effort goes beyond simple donations: it illustrates how blockchain can play a role when internet freedom is under threat. Observers will watch whether efforts to shift funding control from institutions to decentralized communities spread more widely.
🔎 Market takeaways
The crypto‑backed drive led by the Tor Project is being framed not just as donations but as investment in censorship‑resistant infrastructure.
By leveraging privacy‑friendly assets such as Monero and Zcash alongside Bitcoin, the campaign seeks broad global participation and signals the rise of decentralized funding models that respond to strengthened state controls.
After 15 consecutive years of declining internet freedom, blockchain is increasingly viewed as an alternative infrastructure for protecting free expression.
💡 Strategy points
Quadratic funding amplifies the influence of broad-based participation in allocating resources and emphasizes community‑driven decision‑making.
Pairing privacy coins (ZEC, XMR) signals growing crypto use in politically and socially sensitive domains.
Reduced reliance on institutional funding could enhance the sustainability and independence of Web3 projects.
📘 Glossary
Quadratic funding: a decentralized fundraising method that gives more weight to many small donors than to a few large ones
Privacy coin: a cryptocurrency designed to protect transaction histories and user identities (e.g., Monero, Zcash)
Onion service: an anonymous network technology on the Tor network that hides users’ location and identity during communication
💡 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the main purpose of this Tor Project crypto fundraising?
Q. Why are privacy coins important?
Q. How does quadratic funding differ from regular donations?
TP AI Notice The article summary used a language model based on TokenPost.ai. The summary may omit key details or contain inaccuracies.
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