Crypto community condemns Canada for freezing dissidents' Bitcoin wallets

Global cryptocurrency enthusiasts person expressed concerns implicit Canadian authorities freezing slope accounts and crypto wallets progressive successful backing section COVID-19 protests.

On Thursday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Calum MacLeod issued an bid freezing each the integer assets and slope accounts associated with “Freedom Convoy,” oregon a bid of the ongoing protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions.

According to a study by The Toronto Star, the magnitude of funds frozen truthful acold connected slope accounts and integer wallets with Bitcoin (BTC) and different assets is estimated astatine much than $1 million.

“The names of some individuals and entities arsenic good arsenic crypto wallets person been shared by the RCMP with fiscal institutions and accounts person been frozen and much accounts volition beryllium frozen,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland reported Thursday.

She besides argued that the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC) “lacked the indispensable authorities to oversee the caller satellite of cryptocurrency.”

Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland: "The names of some individuals and entities arsenic good arsenic crypto wallets person been shared by the RCMP with fiscal institutions and accounts person been frozen and much accounts volition beryllium frozen." pic.twitter.com/iA69DbRJl1

— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) February 17, 2022

Major crypto advocates person subsequently reacted to the news, with Kraken CEO Jesse Powell condemning Canadian authorities. “Due process is for plebs. Might makes close successful Canada. If idiosyncratic dissents, you conscionable confiscate their wealth, revoke their licenses, exclude them from the fiscal strategy and termination their pets. No request to statement the law, argumentation oregon adjacent rights erstwhile you person a monopoly connected violence,” helium wrote connected Twitter.

Powell besides expressed concerns implicit crypto holders, admitting that it could beryllium imaginable that Kraken could perchance beryllium forced to frost assets by constabulary without judicial consent, stating:

“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.”

Anthony Pompliano, co-founder and spouse of Morgan Creek Digital, noted that the ongoing events successful Canada precise overmuch resembled a concern successful China, which is commonly referred to arsenic an authoritarian capitalist state.

— Pomp (@APompliano) February 18, 2022

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele besides took to Twitter to condemn Canadian authorities for making the state neglect arsenic a top-ranking state successful the “democracy index.” Bukele argued that the wide reported expected Ukraine-Russia situation is simply a distraction, portion the “real war” against state is happening successful countries similar Canada.

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 13, 2022

As antecedently reported, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act connected Monday, which allowed section regulators to frost Freedom Convoy protesters’ slope accounts and show “large and suspicious transactions,” including crypto.

Related: ‘Keep Your Coins’ measure introduced to restrict authorities power of crypto

The bid specifically extended the scope of Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering and anti-terrorist financing rules to screen crowdfunding platforms and the outgo processors they use. “This alteration covers each forms of transactions, including integer assets specified arsenic cryptocurrencies,” FINTRAC said connected Tuesday.