The "Freedom Convoy" of Canadian truckers in Ottawa has raised nearly 16 Bitcoin (roughly $700,000) from 4,877 donors after their GoFundMe donations were blocked.
The group even has garnered support from Elon Musk via Twitter, who believes crypto "cannot be stopped." In late January, Musk also tweeted, "Canadian truckers rule."
The trucker convoy in Ottawa making international headlines was formed in opposition to nationwide vaccination mandates on truckers re-entering Canada from the United States. It has since evolved to object to all COVID-19 health restrictions, spawning similar protests throughout Canada.
Ottawa police are attempting to reign in the convoy over concerns of their trucks blockading city streets and interfering with local businesses.
Law enforcement also collaborated with crowdsourcing platform GoFundMe to block $10 million in donations initially directed toward the convoy's organizers.
That action struck a bad chord with some Canadian Bitcoiners opposed to both financial censorship and the COVID restrictions.
Canadian truckers turn to Bitcoin
In response to the GoFundMe blockade, BTC Sessions, a crypto YouTuber from Calgary, started a fundraiser for the protest using the Bitcoin native crowdfunding platform "Tallycoin."
Because Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment network, it makes it harder for governments to prevent users from sending money to certain causes.
"Thank you TRUCKERS," said one anonymous donor of $87.99 in Bitcoin. "You have made me proud to be Canadian again."
The donor list includes Kraken exchange CEO Jesse Powell, who sent a whole Bitcoin to the cause. "Fix the money, fix the world," he said. "Mandates are immoral. End the madness. Honk Honk!"
The funds are currently being directed toward a multisig wallet controlled by BTC Sessions, Bitcoiner Greg Foss, author Jeff Booth, and Bull Bitcoin CEO Francis Pouliot. A multisig, or "multi-signature," crypto wallet is one that needs authorization from multiple parties before the wallet's funds can be used.
The fifth signer—known as "Nobody Caribou" on Twitter—acts as a liaison between Bitcoiners and the protest organizers on the ground in Ottawa.
In a press release on Wednesday, he mentioned potentially using the funds to supply the truckers with diesel and water and possibly putting the funds to work as a legal defense fund.
Editor's note: This article's headline was updated after publication to more accurately portray the Canadian truckers' stance Covid vaccine mandates.