In response to ongoing blockades to COVID-19 protective measures put in place by Canada, the North-American country’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and his deputy, Chrystia Freeland, have invoked the Emergency Act.
Canada’s Emergency Act gives the nation’s federal government authority to take extraordinary temporary measures to respond to public emergencies of some sort.
The act has placed all payment service providers in the country, including crypto payment firms, under restrictions.
Earlier this year, as part of its efforts to counter COVID-19, Canada ordered that truck drivers be fully vaccinated to cross the country’s border with the United States. The mandate, however, did not go down well with truckers.
As a result, a protest group called “Freedom Convoy” was formed in which protesters consisting of truck drivers and their supporters, strongly kicked against the requirement. They demanded that the order be lifted.
Canada’s Authorities Take Action
The protests led to disruptions to major trade routes in Canada. It is also said to have caused supply-chain bottlenecks across Canada that are negatively affecting the country’s economy.
Considering all of these effects, Canada’s prime minister and his deputy invoked the country’s Emergency act as part of the nation’s response to the recent development.
In a February 14 press conference, Freeland said:
“We are broadening the scope of Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and terrorist financing rules to cover crowdfunding funding platforms and the payment service providers they use. These changes cover all forms of transactions, including digital assets such as cryptocurrencies…All crowdfunding platforms and payment service providers they use must register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC) and must report large and suspicious transactions to FINTRAC.”
Crypto Payment Firms Affected
Protesters set up accounts on GoFundMe and GiveSendGo fundraising platforms. This allowed supporters of the protest group to make donations to sponsor the protest.
Donations totaling $19 million were raised. The capital, however, did not reach the “Freedom Convoy” as it was seized by Canadian authorities. As a result, some members of the protest group decided to use cryptocurrencies, which Canada has no control over because of their decentralized nature.
They organized fundraising rounds using bitcoin. For instance, one of the sub-groups, HonkHonk Hodl, received 22 BTC donations (worth almost $1 million).
Realizing that donations to the protest group are also being made via crypto, the new changes put in place by Trudeau were made to cover crypto payment platforms. These companies are now under obligation to report large transactions that take place through their platform as they could be related to “Freedom Convoy.”
However, considering the decentralized nature of bitcoin transactions, it would be nearly impossible to completely stop these bitcoin donations.
Nayib Bukele Comments on the Recent Development
Concerning the emergency act put in place by Canada, several individuals have come out to either express support or dislike for the development.
Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, has not been left in this regard. The president, whose country adopted bitcoin as legal tender last year, tweeted:
“Are these the people who like to give lessons to other countries about democracy and freedom? This is one of the top-ranking countries in the “democracy index”? Your credibility on these topics is now worth zero.”
Ironically, Canada’s latest move has had a favorable impact on bitcoin’s price, as BTC has recorded a 4.6% gain in value and is trading at $44,236 as of press time.
