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

• 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 VPNs 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.

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."

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.

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.