Protesters migrate to crypto fundraising platform following GoFundMe ban
Truckers protesting the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in Canada have turned to Bitcoin-based crowdfunding platform Tallycoin, following a barrage of mounting political pressure from all sides that culminated in GoFundMe axing their “Freedom Convoy Campaign.”
GoFundMe pulled the campaign and $9 million in donations on Friday in response to reports of violence, which it claimed broke its terms of service. Initially, donors needed to apply to have their funds refunded. However, following a flurry of criticism, the platform backtracked on Saturday, deciding it would automatically refund donors instead.
Shortly after GoFundMe axed the campaign, a group of the organizers moved their efforts to Tallycoin, a crowdfunding platform built on the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain.
“Legacy financial infrastructure can sometimes be politicized and clamped down upon, whereas Bitcoin is a truly censorship resistant method of communicating value,” stated the new fundraising page.
As it currently stands at the time of writing, $321,111 had been donated to the Tallycoin fundraiser — only a fraction of the $9 million raised on GoFundMe. It also remains to be seen whether the funds raised on Tallycoin will be subject to the same governmental and political pressure when converted into fiat currency.
We have just received a donation of over 2 BTC. Total amount contributed is now ~5.68 BTC or $300,000 CAD. pic.twitter.com/wvCqmaRFPZ
— HonkHonk Hodl (@HonkHonkHodl) February 6, 2022
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The Freedom Convoy Campaign initially started in mid-Jan as a fundraiser on GoFundMe for cross-border truckers in Canada protesting vaccine requirements. Since then, it has turned into an all-encompassing rallying point against prescriptive public health measures, including lockdowns and mask requirements.
This isn’t the first time governments or big tech has issued mandates on who can or cannot receive money based on politics. GoFundMe also froze $160,000 in funds until organizers of Convoy to Canberra detailed a spending plan on Jan. 31.
Shortly before the initial Freedom Convoy Campaign was axed, it had reportedly become the fifth most successful in GoFundMe’s history.