Canadian trucker protest raises over $900,000 in bitcoin after GoFundMe blocks millions of dollars in donations

Ottawa trucker protest — Signs sit on a police barricade as truckers and their supporters continue to protest vaccine mandates, in Ottawa, Canada.
REUTERS/Patrick Doyle

A crypto fundraiser for Canadian truckers' Freedom Convoy has pulled in over $900,000 in bitcoin, its organizers said.
GoFundMe has blocked $10 million in donations meant for the Canadian truckers protesting vaccine mandates.
Jesse Powell, CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, is one of 5,000 donors to the HonkHonkHodl crowdfunding page.

Crypto fans of the Canadian truckers' anti-vax protest have raised more than $900,000 in bitcoin after donations via GoFundMe were blocked.

Trucks in the "Freedom Convoy" have clogged roads in Canada's capital Ottawa since late January to protest against the country's COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Supporters donated $10 million to the truckers on GoFundMe. But the crowdfunding platform blocked distribution of the funds to its organizers last weekend, saying the protest was not peaceful and that authorities had raised concerns.

In response, a Canadian bitcoiner group known as "HonkHonkHodl" started a campaign on crypto crowdfunding platform Tallycoin.

"Every transaction that's done will be fully documented and transparent," YouTuber BTC Sessions, one of the group, said in an online video press statement Wednesday.

More than 5,000 people have pledged about 21 bitcoin in satoshis via Tallycoin as of Friday, worth more than $900,000 at bitcoin's current price of $43,700.

Among them was Jesse Powell, CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, who donated 1 bitcoin to the HonkHonkHodl effort.

Powell expressed support for the Freedom Convoy, saying: "Fix the money, fix the world. Mandates are immoral. End the madness. Honk Honk! #FreedomConvoy2022."

The Tallycoin funds are sent to a multi-signature wallet controlled by members of HonkHonkHodl, who have been vocal on Twitter on the merits of bitcoin.

They include BTC Sessions, bitcoin proponent Greg Foss, author Jeff Booth, and an Ottawa resident known as Nobody Caribou on Twitter.

"Legacy financial infrastructure can sometimes be politicized and clamped down upon," the group wrote on Tallycoin. "Bitcoin is truly censorship-resistant. Don't allow your voices to be silenced."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former US President Donald Trump are among those who have praised the truckers' protest.

Canada's vaccine mandates require all truckers crossing the US-Canada border to be fully vaccinated or to quarantine for two weeks at home.

Thousands of drivers have joined the protests, which have led Ottawa's mayor to declare a state of emergency and blocked key border crossings with the US. Automaker Ford is reportedly looking at using planes to deliver car parts to a factory closed by the action.

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