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Canadian Protesters Forced to Embrace Crypto Donations After GoFundMe Fallout

By:
Oluwapelumi Adejumo
Published: Feb 7, 2022, 10:01 UTC

Truck driver protesters in Canada have been forced to move their donations from GoFundMe to a crypto fundraising platform, Tallycoin.

Canadian Protesters Forced to Embrace Crypto Donations After GoFundMe Fallout

Protesters in Canada have moved to crypto fundraising platform, Tallycoin. This comes after GoFundMe stopped fundraising for the “Freedom Convoy Campaign” after news that protesters were involved in illegal and violent activities.

GoFundMe Blocks Protesters’ Donation

The protest started after Canada issued a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for truck drivers. This led to some truckers protesting in the capital city, Ottawa. 

What began as a protest by truckers has now become a full anti-vax campaign, with several groups protesting against the vaccine mandates in the country.

Earlier on, the protesters have been using GoFundMe to source funds. But the fundraising platform stopped the campaign amidst news of violence by protesters, claiming such is against its terms of service.

With over $9 million contributed, GoFundMe has stated that it automatically refunded donors.

Crypto Donations to the Rescue

After the GoFundMe decision, some protest organizers created another fundraising campaign on Tallycoin. Tallycoin is a fundraising platform that accepts Bitcoin donations. It claims to take no cut on the donation, and fundraisers get every Satoshi.

So far, the fundraising campaign has made around 5.68 BTC, equivalent to $321,000. This is still far from the initial $9 million. But a move to crypto might offer protesters the financial freedom they couldn’t get on GoFundMe. 

— HonkHonk Hodl (@HonkHonkHodl) February 6, 2022

On the Tallycoin page, the platform stated that while centralization is vulnerable to being politicized and censored, Bitcoin is censorship-resistant. GoFundMe’s decision further highlights the vulnerabilities of the centralized fundraising platform.

Apart from Tallycoin, some protesters also created a decentralized fundraising campaign on Flipstarter.

Other Protests Using Crypto Donations

This won’t be the first time protesters turn to crypto after authorities censor centralized donation methods. In 2020, Nigerians protesting police brutality started accepting crypto donations after banks froze accounts of protesters. 

In Myanmar, the country’s shadow government now has USDT as its official currency.

Moves by centralized platforms like GoFundMe and even traditional banks continue to make a case for crypto. 

According to Bitcoin advocate Marty Bent, the decision of GoFundMe is an endorsement for Bitcoin in the quest for freedom. This further shows that centralization will remain prone to censorship, no matter how impartial.

Although the events make a case for crypto adoption, it is hard to determine whether this occurrence will affect BTC price action. The cryptocurrency is currently trading at over $42,000 and has seen a 2.3% rise in the last 24 hours.

About the Author

Oluwapelumi is a firm believer in the transformative power power Bitcoin and Blockchain industry holds. He is interested in sharing knowledge and ideas about how the industry could play a pivotal role in the emerging financial system. When he is not writing, he is looking to meet new people and trying out new things.

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