Taking a card from the Canadian Truckers’ protest, the United States is looking to reform its cryptocurrency policy. The Republican lawmakers in Washington are keen to keep the government out of people’s crypto wallets in an effort to prevent a Canadian-like crackdown in the US.
The Americans want to position the use of digital assets as a tool for promoting civil liberties because it’s beyond the government’s reach. Senator Ted Cruz highlighted that the reason petty authoritarians around the world hate bitcoin is that they can’t control it. He said the trump card of the modern radical left is that if you don’t comply, they are willing to destroy your reputation and your personal finances.
Meanwhile, crypto lobbyists have also highlighted that criminals use conventional payment and financial systems for scams all the time. Renowned lawmakers like Senator Elizabeth Warren and federal agencies have outlined crypto’s lack of visibility into the ownership of digital wallets used for transferring cryptocurrencies.
The Freedom Convoy had started a GoFundMe fundraiser which was blocked after the Canadian government’s intervention. And this prompted the protesters to take donations in cryptocurrencies. This saw Tallycoin amassing around $1 million in bitcoin to fund the protesters’ food, lodging, and other basic necessities.
After the Trudeau-led government took to emergency order and freezing of bank accounts, crypto exchanges Coinbase and Kraken told its Twitter followers to take to decentralized services. This drove crypto enthusiasts and protesters, who were concerned about the authorities freezing their accounts, to have custody of their crypto.
