Canada’s “frozen” Bitcoin on the move despite draconian measures

When cross-border motortruck drivers started protesting the authorities vaccination mandate connected January 9th, nary 1 expected it to past for implicit a month. 

To extremity the protest, the Prime Minister invoked the Emergencies Act connected February 14th. The Act not lone allowed the authorities to frost slope accounts of radical connected to the protestation but its proviso was besides extended to screen crypto exchanges and integer assets.

Effect of the Emergencies Act connected crypto

Using the Emergencies Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) froze respective slope accounts of those connected to the protests. 

It besides blacklisted astir 34 wallets connected to the protestation and sent the addresses to exchanges asking them to frost assets successful those exchanges. 

However, it’s not lone those who participated successful the protestation that has been victims of this fiscal surveillance. Even those who donated to the protestation are affected. 

Briane is simply a azygous ma from Chilliwack moving a minimum wage job. She gave $50 to the convoy erstwhile it was 100% legal. She hasn’t participated successful immoderate different way. Her slope relationship has present been frozen. This is who Justin Trudeau is really targeting with his Emergencies Act orders.

— Mark Strahl, MP (@markstrahl) February 20, 2022

According to a subordinate of the parliament, Mark Stahl, a azygous parent from his constituency, has present mislaid entree to her relationship due to the fact that she donated $50 to the protests.

Stakeholders criticizes draconian act

Several individuals and organizations criticized the determination to invoke the Emergencies Act, claiming that it would lone escalate the concern oregon the requirements for invoking it weren’t fulfilled. 

Many stakeholders successful the crypto abstraction criticized this determination by the government, calling it the weaponization of money.

100% yes it has/will hap and 100% yes, we volition beryllium forced to comply. If you're disquieted astir it, don't support your funds with immoderate centralized/regulated custodian. We cannot support you. Get your coins/cash retired and lone commercialized p2p.

— Jesse Powell (@jespow) February 18, 2022

In a tweet wherever helium expressed his outrage, the CEO of Kraken, the second-largest crypto speech successful the US, criticized the move. He further stated that crypto exchanges would person nary prime but to comply with authorities directives if asked to frost their wallet. 

However, helium advised users to opt for self-custodial wallets to person afloat power of their assets. Brian Armstrong of Coinbase besides echoed the aforesaid sentiments. 

In effect not the above, the Ontario Securities Commission stated that it has flagged these tweets and sent them to the RCMP, claiming that it mightiness beryllium calculated to evade the sanctions successful place.

Bitcoin is censorship-resistant

Despite blacklisting immoderate wallets, on-chain data reveals that Bitcoin tied to these wallets has been transferred. Of the astir 20 BTC received done the Tallycoin fundraiser, lone 0.11 BTC remains. 

Also, astir of the wallets blacklisted by the RCMP person been drained. The nationalist ledger shows that portions of BTC from the Tallycoin wallets were sent to Crypto.com and Coinbase. 

However, whether they’ve been cashed retired remains unknown. This shows that the authorities cannot authorisation a decentralized fiscal strategy directly. But they tin people regulated companies specified arsenic crypto exchanges to forestall holders from cashing retired these assets. 

Government anti-crypto regulations driving adoption

The determination to censor crypto successful Canada has further helped to summation involvement and adoption. Data reveals that much radical are present buying BTC successful the country. 

According to Coinglass, the flagship BTC ETF successful the country, Purpose spot Bitcoin ETF has accrued its holdings by 11.8% successful the past 2 weeks. 

At the aforesaid time, much Canadians are withdrawing their wealth from banks. Thus, the effort to soundlessness crypto exchanges and blacklist crypto wallets has lone sowed a effect of distrust among residents. 

With the authorities precocious considering permanently retaining the fiscal surveillance provisions, crypto adoption is apt to turn further successful Canada.