Bitcoin Spot Volumes Drop To 2023 Lows as Rallies Lack Spot Conviction

Cryptocurrency & Free Speech Finance

Bitcoin (BTC) spot volumes on Binance have dropped to their lowest level since September 2023, indicating that the current intraday price rise may not be backed by strong demand.The rally above $71,700 on Monday appears to be driven mainly by news headlines and liquidations in the Bitcoin futures markets.Binance volumes and exchange flows signal the demand gap for BTCCrypto analyst Darkfost said that March is on track to record the lowest Binance spot volume since Q3 2023, at roughly $52 billion, compared to the $88 billion recorded in September 2023. The activity levels align with the prior bear market conditions,…

Jafar Panahi’s 2025 thriller It Was Just an Accident. Photo: Handout “We are worried about what is going to happen. Every morning, we wake up to the sound of explosions. Many places have been destroyed, and I know that some civilians have been killed as well. However, the Islamic Republic does not give us any accurate information, and the domestic news agencies are only propaganda centres for the regime. Because of this, we truly don’t know what is really happening or what awaits us.” These are the words of an Iranian dissident who has managed to contact us from inside the country after Israel and the USA started bombing Iran. They are too concerned for their safety to be named. Iran’s internet has been blocked for days now. There are reports of people protesting from their homes being shot at. The UN has warned that imprisoned Iranian protesters face “expedited” executions. There are fears about conditions deteriorating in Evin prison where a lot of political opponents of the regime are being held. Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi is currently in a jail in Zanjan, a city northwest of Tehran, and her situation is unknown. It is impossible to know exactly what is happening. In war the truth only comes out later – if at all – and disinformation is king. What is worrying is that there is such uncertainty about the outcome, and concern now that the USA and Israel don’t much care about the freedom of the people of Iran. Tens of thousands who bravely came out on the streets earlier this year to protest the regime were brutally murdered, many more arrested. Most shockingly, verified accounts have documented how the Revolutionary Guard swarmed hospitals, prevented medical care, took people off ventilators. Some doctors have even reported that wounded protesters who were being treated were later found with bullet holes in their heads. On Monday Index screened Jafar Panahi’s new film It was Just an Accident in advance of it coming out on Mubi this Friday, 6 March. It is a must-see if you want to understand the varying points of view of ordinary people in Iran. One of the people who talked on our panel discussion after the screening, Tara Aghdashloo, an Iranian writer, director and poet, wrote on Instagram of the current dilemma of those watching what is happening from afar: “Whoever we blame – this moment is overwhelming. There is pain, hoping for something good out of it, more pain, terror, remembering the mass murders by the regime yet fearing what these missiles and bombs could do to family and friends and innocent people, to our environment, infrastructure, our historic sites. Elation, even daring to hope that this fascist dictatorship might be gone once and for all. But remembering that the safety of my people is now in the hands of the same leaders, and that we’re expected to bet that our liberation is in a series of missiles that is shaking the city.” To be an Iranian dissident must be profoundly lonely and confusing. The autocratic ayatollah has been killed. But there is no succession plan for democracy. At Index we have always stood up for the people who want Iran to be finally free, for the women and young people, for the rappers, poets, artists and writers and all those who have put have themselves again and again in the firing line for the right to express their full selves without fear of torture and death. READ MORE

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Investigative journalist Saddia Mazhar (right) documenting women arrested on International Women’s Day. Photo: Saddia Mazhar All over the world, International Women Day is celebrated to recognise the achievements and rights of women. But unfortunately, in Pakistan, that recognition means nothing. The reason: on that same International Women’s Day, in Islamabad, the federal capital of Pakistan, 44 women taking part in the annual Aurat March (a non-violent demonstration by women’s rights activists demanding social and economic rights) were detained by the police. The were held simply because they were planning to celebrate and put on a rally in the capital to recognise the achievements and challenges of women in Pakistan. The Aurat March activists were picked up by the police under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which was imposed in the federal capital Pakistan is a deeply patriarchal society where women lag behind in everything, which is why women face discrimination, violence, and sexual harassment on a daily basis. Perhaps unsurprisingly Pakistan was ranked bottom amongst 148 countries such as Sudan, Chad, Iran, and Guinea in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2025, with only 56.7% gender parity. This is even worse than in 2022, when it ranked 145th out of 146 countries, above only Afghanistan. The Aurat March organisers stated on X that they “were peacefully exercising their right to protest.” Three women journalists who had gone to cover the protests, including investigative reporter Saddia Mazhar (pictured), were also arrested. Reports suggest the women marchers, before being arrested, were dragged, beaten up, and had their arms twisted by the police. Shahbana Zafar, the wife of Harris Khaliq, Secretary General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), and others went to the Women Police and Child Station to meet the arrested marchers and they too were detained After their release, the Aurat March organisers held a press conference at the National Press Club. They stated that the theme of Aurat March Islamabad was a feminist constitution, among other things. As a result of the arrests, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s message on International Women’s Day drew strong criticism from female social media users. His message on X read: “On International Women’s Day, I wish to reiterate my government’s commitment to ensuring a safe, equal and enabling environment for women. The government is taking steps to empower women, protect their rights and provide them opportunities to excel in every field.” READ MORE

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Global Free Speech

CPJ welcomes Kyrgyzstan’s release of journalist Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, calls for charges to be dropped

New York, March 23, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Kyrgyz journalist Makhabat Tajibek kyzy’s release from prison and calls on authorities to drop all charges against her. In 2024, Tajibek kyzy, the director of anti-corruption investigative outlets Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese, was convicted on charges of calling for mass unrest and sentenced to six years in prison. Earlier this month, Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court overturned the decision, sending her case back to a lower court for review on the basis of a United Nations Working Group decision that said she had been arbitrarily detained. “The release of Makhabat Tajibek kyzy from prison is a rare…

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Access to the global internet is now restricted to loyal servants of the Iranian regime. Photo: Rahadiansyah/Unsplash In wartime Iran, connecting to the internet is now a perilous act, viewed as a crime against the state. Since hostilities erupted between Iran, Israel, and the United States on 28 February 2026, authorities have unleashed one of the most comprehensive internet shutdowns in history, cutting off millions from the rest of the world. Iranian authorities are now warning citizens that sharing photos of bombed locations or even trying to access the global internet could get you prosecuted for “collaborating with the enemy”. Against this backdrop, using a search engine or VPN is no longer innocent – it can be seen as a threat. Following massive airstrikes that killed the Supreme Leader and senior commanders, the state responded not only with anti-aircraft fire, but also activated a “kill switch” – severing international internet infrastructure. According to NetBlocks, connectivity dropped to just 1% of normal levels. For more than 280 hours, 90 million people have endured enforced silence, with over 40% of 2026 so far (up to 10 March) spent under internet shutdown. This calculated effort intends to isolate the population from information, not just a simple malfunction. A text message from an Iranian mobile operator calling on users to report people sharing images or information In a climate of heightened state paranoia, the SMS has become a tool of direct psychological warfare. Most frequently, messages from mobile operators to Iranian users characterise the sharing of images from bombing sites or “anti-government” sentiment as a “security violation”, effectively deputising mobile phones as tracking devices for dissent. More alarming are the rare reports of messages carrying direct judicial weight. These warn that “repeated connection to the international internet” will result in the immediate suspension of the phone line and referral to the judiciary. By criminalising attempts to bypass a firewall, authorities equate digital access with espionage. Notably, while these systems are used to threaten citizens, they have remained silent when issuing air-raid or public safety warnings. The architecture of the “class-based internet” The blackout is not total. Instead, authorities have enforced a “whitelisting” system that grants global web access only to pre-approved, loyal users. This system works because Iran has built its own internal internet, separating local traffic from the rest of the world. When the government turns on the whitelist, most people can only use local sites, while a small, approved group can still access the global internet. Instead of just blocking certain websites, the government now blocks most people entirely, letting only trusted insiders through. On 10 March, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani – representing an administration that, ironically, had campaigned on a pledge to reduce filtering – confirmed this graded reality. She stated that the government is working to provide limited access specifically for those who can “convey the voice of the system to the world”. This allows the regime to dominate the narrative reaching the outside world, drowning out civilian experiences with state propaganda. The digital underground: Configs and cat-and-mouse Despite threats, the Iranian people have not surrendered their right to speak. An underground network of “configs” now sustains resistance. Software like V2Ray, Xray, or Trojan is essentially an engine that does nothing on its own. To function, they require a specially formatted text file that specifies which server, protocol, and path to use. What users receive as links or files in private Telegram channels are actually encoded versions of these settings. Because the state’s deep packet inspection technology is constantly hunting for these connections, these files often have a very short lifespan. The challenge of keeping connections alive has created a high-risk black market. Short-lived configs are bought at high prices, making communication expensive and risky. For many users, especially those with limited technical knowledge, the situation creates new vulnerabilities. People searching for a way to contact relatives abroad often rely on unknown sellers or unverified software, exposing them to scams, malware, and surveillance risks. Some turn to Starlink, but owning such hardware adds further dangers of arrest and confiscation. Doxing as statecraft: The “spy hunters” The crackdown isn’t just online. Some Telegram channels linked to security forces now encourage people to report on each other, calling it an effort to find spies. These channels employ open-source intelligence tactics to identify citizens. When a video of an airstrike is posted, these groups inspect metadata and visual details to pinpoint the photographer’s location. Their personal information is then exposed, and they are labelled as enemy collaborators. This vigilante-style digital hunting is supported by the highest levels of the judiciary. Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei has publicly warned of “no leniency”, while state television has discussed punishments ranging from property confiscation to the death penalty for media actions that “damage national security”. The humanitarian cost of silence The human rights implications are catastrophic. Human Rights Watch has warned that the shutdown violates international law. When the IDF issues evacuation warnings on social media, those warnings fall into a digital vacuum. Because the general population cannot access the global web, they cannot see the maps or the warnings intended to save their lives. Centuries ago, the Persian Empire pioneered the Chapar-khaneh, a sophisticated postal system that revolutionised communication. Today, the heirs of that civilisation are being forced into a digital dark age. This is not the first time a nation has been stripped of its right to the global digital commons, nor will it be the last. But this crisis must serve as a provocation for the next generation of internet giants. As satellite-to-mobile technology advances, internet providers face the question of whether global access should be guaranteed in places where governments restrict connectivity. Preventing the criminalisation of communication may require new technical solutions. Securing open access remains a challenge for the global community. READ MORE

Journalists from the state broadcaster RTK will meet members of the mission. Photo: Arianselmani From 24 to 25 March 2026, partner organisations of the Council of Europe Platform on the Safety of Journalists and other organisations will conduct a two-day fact-finding mission to Prishtina, Kosovo. The purpose of the mission is to assess the challenges to media freedom in the country and to discuss the possible solutions with media stakeholders and authorities. During the mission, the delegation will address political pressure on the media; the safety of journalists; journalists’ working conditions; legislation, including the media law and proposed amendments; the public broadcaster and the Independent Media Commission; journalists’ access to public information; legal threats, including abusive lawsuits (SLAPPs) and proposals to re-criminalise defamation; and the transposition and application of the European anti-SLAPP Directive, the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), and the Digital Services Act (DSA). Prime Minister Albin Kurti has confirmed a meeting with the delegation. The delegation will also meet editors and journalists, members of the parliamentary media committee, judicial authorities, police representatives, regulatory bodies, and representatives of the public broadcaster. Following the two-day mission, the partners will present their initial findings at a press conference in Prishtina on 25 March 2026 and will subsequently publish a report on media freedom alongside a set of recommendations. The report will be shared with relevant national and international organisations. A similar fact-finding mission to Kosovo was organised by the Platform in 2022. The mission is supported by the Association of Journalists of Kosovo. Participating organisations European Centre for Press and Media Freedom ⁠European Federation of Journalists ⁠Reporters Without Borders ⁠International Press Institute ⁠Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa ⁠Association of European Journalists ⁠Index on Censorship READ MORE

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The Russian messenger app MAX has been castigated for its aggressive gathering of metadata and wide-ranging requests for permissions. Photo: Imago/Bode/Alamy The fifth year of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine grinds on, with its unvarying backdrop of devastated Ukrainian cities and extensive casualties among the non-combatant population. Meanwhile the Russian authorities exploit the war as justification for constantly tightening the screws of their repressive policies at home. In the last few years, criminal prosecutions for speaking out have become common, everyday occurrences. The definitions of “extremism” have become increasingly vague, and the pressure applied to the independent media and civil society initiatives has become systemic. Alongside these developments, another, less visible, but equally significant process has been gathering momentum: the restructuring of the digital environment in such a way as to induce people to modify their own behaviour themselves – frequently without even realising. Six months ago a law came into force in Russia making it an offence punishable by law to search for extremist materials online. This law, which was widely publicised in the media, functions as a “bogeyman”. That is, the security men’s little lamp won’t light up if you have entered “Navalny” in Google, but if they confiscate your computer and discover a search query like that in it, you can be charged with a crime. In the news, however, they don’t tell you about fine details like that. In the news they simply say that those who search for extremist materials online will be punished and that is what remains imprinted on people’s minds – that googling anything against the authorities is prohibited. For a long time, the Russian state’s approach to control of the internet was overt and unsubtle: ban a site, block a platform, restrict access. This didn’t work well. It annoyed people, provoked resistance and rapidly spawned solutions that bypassed restrictions. But in the fifth year of a war which, in regions under attack by drones, is accompanied by constant interruptions to mobile internet services, a solution has been found. Whitelisting. The implications of the whitelist model are simple: stable access is only assured to services approved in advance by the state. All the rest can operate, but with outages or restrictions, and without any guarantees. At the same time, Roscomnadzor (the Federal Supervisory Agency for Information and Communications Technologies) has decided to block calls via WhatsApp and Telegram – and this affects everybody. WhatsApp is the most popular messenger app in Russia, with 96 million users. People, especially the older generation, like it because it is simple. It’s good for everyday and family use, for off-the-cuff calling. Telegram is good for other things: it’s a connection to a field of information, news, politics and alternative points of view. They tried to block it as early as 2018, but when it became clear that direct prohibitions don’t work, the strategy changed. They no longer block apps completely but simply render them inconvenient. And to replace them they offer the “national messenger app” MAX. Celebrities who are loyal to the authorities advertise it on TV and urban billboards. “Great reception even in the car park,” a pro-government female rapper declares as she posts a MAX advertising video in stories, while the other apps beside it can no longer provide any access at all. MAX is rapidly becoming the compulsory communications channel in schools and nursery schools, universities and colleges, state and municipal institutions, as well as in “house chats” for residents of apartment blocks, facilitated by the management companies. Its introduction is only rarely achieved by means of public command: in most instances it is a case of word-of-mouth instructions and surreptitious pressure – from warnings about “unpleasantness” to threats of disciplinary reprimands or dismissal. MAX is whitelisted by definition. It is stable in situations where other applications are “temporarily unavailable”. MAX has to be preinstalled on all the mobile devices offered for sale in the country. But MAX is not attempting to become everyone’s “favourite” all at once. It is enough for it to become compulsory. There is no attempt to persuade people – they are simply transferred under the pretext of “convenience”. MAX’s most crucial characteristic is its profound integration with the platform Gosuslugi (State Services). This is an individual’s digital profile: passport, taxes, fines, medical record, welfare payments. MAX can be used to confirm a person’s identity or age, and it can be used as a digital document – for instance when purchasing alcohol. This changes the very nature of the messenger app. It ceases to be a space for networking and socialising and becomes part of an ID system. MAX’s very interface suggests that it is the Russian equivalent of the Chinese app WeChat. The Russian authorities are looking to China more and more nowadays – not as a model that can be copied point for point, but as proof that control can be built into everyday reality. The Chinese system doesn’t work by means of incessant prohibitions, but by virtue of people’s habituation to limits. They know in advance what the boundaries are and they act within them. And Russia’s digital policy is gradually leading people in the same direction. However, WeChat was never designated a “national messenger app”, and people were not herded into it by the threat of being sacked: it defeated the competition on its own terms – thanks to its convenience, ecosystem of services and the early effect of scale. Initially it was simply a messenger app, then a payment instrument, and then a portal to municipal amenities, the media, taxis and state services. The process of habituation was organic, and the infrastructure of control was only constructed around already familiar elements. MAX was immediately castigated for its aggressive gathering of metadata and wide-ranging requests for permissions – access to contacts, photos, call history, screen – and the absence of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) by default: this means that all messages are saved on servers in readable form, creating the risk of their being accessed by third parties or state agencies. But it is not the technical details that are most important. The most important thing is the effect: the individual becomes accustomed to the idea that risk, not privacy, is the norm. That it is safer not to discuss anything superfluous. That it is simpler not to ask questions. In this way a new model of social behaviour is taking shape. Despite the official declarations, MAX has not become massively popular by choice. People use it because they need to. Because otherwise it’s impossible to manage. This is a fundamental difference from messenger apps that have become integrated into life in an organic fashion. And this is the point at which the most disturbing question of all arises. The war might come to an end, but will the blocking of the mobile internet also end? An infrastructure of social control is rarely temporary. When public money has been invested in it, when it has been built into schools, state institutions and people’s everday activities, it starts living a life of its own. New justifications for it will always be found: security, stability, new threats. Not coercion, but habituation. When social interaction becomes cautious, there is no longer any need for constant intervention by the censor. Censorship is already built into daily life. In this sense, what is happening now resembles ever more closely Michel Foucault’s theory of the Panopticon – an “open prison” in which control is effected, not by means of constant surveillance, but by the possibility of surveillance. Individuals do not need to know that they are being observed at this moment. It is sufficient for them to be uncertain whether they are. In this system the walls become invisible and discipline becomes internal. A digital infrastructure organised.around whitelists, identification and unstable means of communication reproduces precisely the same logic:  individuals start behaving cautiously, not because they are being punished, but because it’s simply safer that way. It is also important to note that this behaviour does not remain within the ambit of the application. It is inevitably extrapolated to life offline – to conversations in public spaces, to spontaneous discussion, to the way in which people speak out loud. When communication in digital space becomes cautious and functional, the same model is gradually carried over into ordinary life. The open prison has no need of bars or guards: it inculcates the habit of self-limitation. And that is precisely why such systems remain stable long after the formal reason for their appearance disappears. READ MORE

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