The truckers strike in Canada has assumed disturbing proportions. The truckers are protesting Covid-related restrictions. To break the strike, the Canadian government is trying to choke the funding to the truckers.
The truckers have been blocking the roads in Canada in an attempt to derail the country’s economy. They hope this way to pressurize the Canadian government to lift Covid restrictions.
Buterin’s Views on the Strike
Expressing his views on the situation, Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Etheruem said that although occupying roads was illegal, equally, the governments moves were heavy-handed. He added, that it was in situations such as these that cryptocurrency could counter governmental overreach.
He felt that it was important for the government to follow the law. They simply could not lawfully stop people’s funding. People had a right to protest and defend themselves. Under such situations, DeFi technologies make it difficult for the government to act unlawfully. Buterin was trying to make the point that crypto was actually not a disruptive technology but a means of achieving restoration.
In an effort to break the strike, the government recently invoked emergency powers . Using these powers the government instructed the banks to freeze the accounts of the strikers. The emergency powers enable the government to do so without the fear of any civil liability.
Buterin said that it was lawless to use the banks as intermediaries to intimidate the striking truckers. He even said that such moves were dangerous. DeFi helps limit the scope of action and damage by banks acting as intermediaries.
To counter this, people supporting the strikers are raising money through crypto donations. The government, on its part has moved to blacklist several crypto addresses to choke this mode of funding. The success of this can yet not be assessed.
However, to convert crypto to fiat currency also requires holders to approach the exchanges which are regulated by the government. How this all turns out remains to be seen.
