Trading bitcoins (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies on decentralized exchanges and other peer-to-peer (P2P) trading is the best thing a user can do if they don’t want their funds frozen.
That is the recommendation from the CEO of centralized exchange Kraken, Jesse Powell. He maintains that if the Canadian government demands information from his clients, he will have to give it 100% and, in addition, could block accounts and freeze funds.
Powell made the comment in a response on Twitter. Initially, he had uploaded a video of Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who reported that the Mounted Police handed over to the authorities the database of the clients of the local financial services companies. This with the intention of blocking the funds to those who participated in the anti-vaccine protests a few days ago.
Financial services included fundraising platforms and other providers of virtual payment services, such as cryptocurrency wallets.
For Jesse Powell the call is clear. If his company is rebuked by the Canadian authority they will be “forced to comply.”
“If you are concerned, please do not store your funds with any centralized/regulated custodian. We can’t protect them. Buy and sell your cryptocurrencies only in P2P trades.”
Jesse Powell, CEO of the Kraken exchange.
The Liberty Convoy
As mentioned, the Canadian police obtained the data of the companies that operate with money in that country and accessed the clients, identifying those who were part of the Freedom Convoy, to block your accounts and freeze your funds.
And what is the Freedom Convoy? This is a series of trucker protests against the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic [como la exigencia de vacunación o cuarentenas]. They are rows of trucks parked on the main roads of a country, which are intended to paralyze traffic and commercial routes.
The protest began on January 28 and has caused economic damage in several Canadian cities. Yesterday Thursday was dissolved the protest, according to local press reports. The Ottawa police threatened fines and stripping of driver’s licenses, in addition to financial blocks.
Following the protest, the government, through Chrystia Freeland, said that the account lockouts would continue. For that, they will rely on the powers that financial institutions have to invoke the Emergency Law, which allows suspending the accounts of a person or company related to the protests, even without a court order, something reported by CriptoNoticias.
Freeland said the government is ordering financial service providers that they stop operating with accounts or services that could be related to the movement of truckers.
“I particularly want people involved in illegal blockades and illegal occupations to know that these measures are real. They are being used. They will have an impact. I am not happy to impose any of these measures. Indeed, we do so with great sorrow but do not doubt our determination to act, to defend our democracy, to defend our economy and to restore peace.”
And it is that, as this newspaper has reported, the truckers’ movement has used fundraising to finance its activities, with food, fuel and accommodation, through GoFundMe, at first, before it was suspended.
Then, they relied on Tallycoin, a service similar to the previous one, but for Bitcoin (BTC). Through that service, the protesters came to collect about 21 BTC.
Now that the protest has been lifted, it only remains for the government to violate the privacy of companies linked to cryptocurrencies and meet those who are behind the financing of that protest. that lasted for several days and that has left several detainees and many others investigated.