Bitcoin Policy Institute Joins State Department Freedom Tech Program

The Freedom Tech Excellence Program is a State Department talent exchange designed to bring private-sector specialists into diplomatic work on digital freedom and freedom of expression. Its remit spans online speech, privacy-enhancing technologies, efforts to counter digital surveillance and scams, and responsible AI governance. The inclusion of the Bitcoin Policy Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank founded in 2021, broadens Bitcoin policy’s reach beyond the more familiar arena of financial regulation.

The department announced on July 24, 2026, that the Bitcoin Policy Institute, Palantir Technologies, Anduril Industries and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation would serve as the program’s four founding partners. Participating employees will take limited-term State Department assignments while remaining employed by their home organizations, and the exchange is not a route to permanent federal employment. Officials did not disclose the first participants, assignment lengths or any funding or contract value.