Cryptocurrencies have come under the radar in the protests taking place across Canada. The Canadian police force has allegedly issued an order to blacklist crypto wallets that are affiliated with the Freedom Convoy. The order is coming after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in the country.
Crypto exchanges are directed to not transact with Canadian protesters
Canadian news outlet, The Counter Signal, reports that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) order it gained access to directed all FINTRAC regulated companies to cease transacting with a total of 34 crypto wallets. These crypto addresses include 29 Bitcoin addresses, four Ethereum addresses, and one address each of Cardano, Monero, and Litecoin.
Pursuant to the Emergency Economic Measures Order, under subsection 19(1) of the Emergencies Act, there is a duty to cease facilitating any transactions pertaining to the following cryptocurrency address(es), the police order is quoted saying.
The order goes ahead to list the wallets and directs that any transactions or attempted transactions should be immediately reported to the police commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The Counter Signal notes that it has confirmed some of the wallets have held donations made towards supporting protests against the government’s COVID-19 mandates. Collectively, the wallets listed are said to hold over $1.4 million worth of crypto assets the report also revealed.
The situation in Canada
The latest police move is coming after Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to address illegal protests. Under the Emergencies Act, the government can suspend citizens’ right to free movement and assembly, even with force if necessary. Previously, the government blocked donations made to the protesting truckers through the crowdfunding platform, GoFundMe.
Canadian truck drivers began protesting last month after the government directed all cross-border truckers to get vaccinated for COVID-19. However, the government maintains that the health safety measures are necessary to combat the spread of the novelle virus.
Opinions are however divided over which side should cave in to the other. Many observers including Elon Musk have expressed support for the protesters.
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