Soapbox developed Agora
OSLO, Norway, June 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- At the 2026 Oslo Freedom Forum, the World Liberty Congress today announced the launch of Agora, a new global platform designed to help freedom movements, political prisoners, dissidents, and human rights defenders receive direct international fundraising support without relying on traditional financial gatekeepers.
Developed by Soapbox and spearheaded by Venezuelan democracy leader Leopoldo López in partnership with the World Liberty Congress, Agora was created to address one of the most urgent challenges facing civil society today: the growing difficulty for activists and independent movements to access global funding infrastructure.
The project was borne through collaboration with the Human Rights Foundation's freedom technology program and comes at a moment when authoritarian governments increasingly use banking restrictions, censorship, and financial pressure to isolate dissidents and suppress democratic movements.
Agora enables activists and organizations around the world to launch campaigns and receive direct peer-to-peer support globally using Bitcoin infrastructure designed for resilience, accessibility, and privacy. Unlike traditional crowdfunding platforms, Agora does not require activists to navigate complex banking systems, corporate approval processes, or geographic restrictions that often exclude the very people most in need of support.
"We are witnessing a coordinated assault on democratic principles. Agora is the infrastructure for an equally coordinated network of support going in the other direction," said Leopoldo López.
At launch, Agora features campaigns supporting political prisoners and grassroots human rights movements from multiple regions, including Uganda, Nicaragua, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, and Palestine, alongside campaigns organized by members of the World Liberty Congress network.
The platform represents a broader vision for unstoppable infrastructure for civil society, where direct support for human rights can move across borders as freely as the ideas that inspire it.
"Millions of people want to help defend freedom around the world," said M. K. Fain, Soapbox co-founder. "The problem has never been solidarity. The problem has been barriers. Agora exists to solve that."
Agora is available now on the web at https://agora.spot and on the ZapStore for Android.
Media contact:
Mary Kate Fain
co-founder Soapbox
[email protected]
SOURCE Soapbox
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