The U.S. State Department is set to launch a new program that includes Bitcoin as part of a broader push for digital freedom worldwide.
The initiative, called the Freedom Tech Excellence Program, or FTEP, will bring the department together with the Bitcoin Policy Institute, data analytics firm Palantir Technologies, defense technology company Anduril Industries, and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, according to Bitcoin Magazine. The program will focus on issues that include online surveillance, encryption, AI governance, and protecting free expression online.
Five priority areas outlined for the program
Based on the program’s stated goals, participants will work across five areas:
- First Amendment and free-expression protections in the digital age;
- countering unlawful digital surveillance and online scams;
- privacy-enhancing technologies such as strong encryption and VPNs;
- responsible governance of emerging technologies, including AI;
- safeguarding children and other users online.
Bitcoin Magazine wrote that the inclusion of the Bitcoin Policy Institute indicates the State Department views Bitcoin and blockchain technology as relevant tools for getting around censorship and financial surveillance in authoritarian states. The publication noted that this has long been part of the organization’s advocacy work.
Temporary private-sector placements inside the department
FTEP will run through limited-term assignments. Under that structure, private-sector personnel will be placed inside the State Department on temporary embeds and tasked with shaping diplomatic efforts around specific digital freedom issues.
The report also linked the program to President Donald Trump’s stated support for the crypto sector. It said Trump campaigned on helping the industry and that, since taking office, his administration has taken a more crypto-friendly approach both to regulation and to bringing parts of the sector into government policy.
Report cites March 2025 bitcoin reserve order
As one example, Bitcoin Magazine pointed to a March 2025 executive order signed by Trump establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. The order was capitalized with roughly 200,000 Bitcoin already held by the government through criminal and civil forfeiture, the report said.
According to the article, the order placed Bitcoin alongside strategic reserves that the U.S. maintains for materials such as gold, petroleum, and pharmaceuticals, treating it as a scarce national asset rather than only a speculative one.
The story first appeared in Bitcoin Magazine and was written by Mathew Di Salvo.