Following the decision by GoFundMe to remove the donation campaign for the Canada “Freedom Convoy” trucker protest from its site, a group of Canadian libertarian bitcoin evangelists have thrown the group a lifeline.

Fortune reports the group, under the moniker “HonkHonkHodl”, which is described on Twitter as an initiative to “orange pill Canadian truckers.” The term is a play on the red pill and blue pill concept from the 1999 movie The Matrix — alt-right communities have adopted the term “red pilling” as being a claim to know the “real” truth about society.

The “orange pill” refers to people who buy bitcoin, which represents financial freedom and monetary sovereignty according to the group.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bitcoin-canada-trucker-protest-donations-b2011425.html

The Canadian government plans to crack down on the truckers and carriers involved in the protests and blockades that have swept the country, a senior official said on Monday after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the extraordinary step of declaring a national emergency.

“We are today serving notice: If your truck is being used in these illegal blockades, your corporate accounts will be frozen, the insurance on your vehicle will be suspended.” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said. “Send your semi-trailers home.”

Freeland made the threat after Trudeau announced that he was invoking the country’s Emergencies Act in response to the protests. It gives the federal government broad powers, including the ability to suspend some civil liberties, for 30 days.

By invoking the act — a first by any Canadian prime minister — Trudeau said the federal government will be able to deploy more police resources to keep border crossings including the Ambassador Bridge open, and support efforts to reopen others. It will also give the government the power to force tow-truck operators to remove semi-trucks blocking borders.

Hundreds of commercial trucks remain in protests near the U.S.-Canada border in Coutts, Alberta, and Emerson, Manitoba, and in the Canadian capital, Ottawa as part of the Freedom Convoy.

Freeland provided no details about how truckers and carriers involved in the protests would be targeted. The protests have included many owner-operators bonded to carriers — with and without their blessing.

The measures targeting truckers and carriers follows a threat by Ontario Premier Doug Ford that commercial drivers involved in the protests could lose their licenses.

Much of the Canadian trucking industry has distanced itself from the protests, which began in response to the COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers. The largest industry group, the Canadian Trucking Alliance, individual carriers and individual drivers have condemned the protests.

The blockades at the borders have, ironically, largely impacted the trucking industry and its cross-border drivers, who are overwhelmingly vaccinated. The protests have added hours of transit time for drivers — including unpaid time waiting in traffic for many — and slowed down the operation of carriers.

The most significant blockade shut down the busiest commercial crossing between the U.S. and Canada, the Ambassador Bridge, for a week until its reopening late Sunday. Freeland said the Ambassador Bridge blockade affected CA$390 million ($306 million) of trade per day.

“Critical supply chains are being disrupted,” Trudeau said. “This is hurting workers who rely on these jobs to feed their families.”

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/canada-vows-crackdown-on-truckers-carriers-involved-in-protests-border-blockades

Sudanese security forces shot dead a protester Monday in a crackdown on the thousands marching against last year's military coup and the arrest of scores of pro-democracy activists, medics said.

Regular mass protests have rocked the troubled northeast African nation since an October 25 military takeover led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the death on Monday takes the number killed to at least 80.

The power grab derailed a fragile power-sharing agreement between the army and civilians negotiated after the 2019 ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

On Monday, thousands rallied in the capital Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman, AFP reporters said, while protests also took place in the eastern city of Port Sudan and in the western Darfur region, according to witnesses.

In Khartoum, protests had begun with crowds waving national flags and carrying red balloons, as the rallies coincided with Valentine's Day.

"Today is the nation's love day," one banner read.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/02/sudanese-protester-killed-crackdown-anti-coup-rallies

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, on Tuesday announced that his government is invoking the 1988 Emergencies Act, which gives him the power to freeze bank accounts and monitor "large and suspicious transactions” including funds used for crypto transactions, amid the widespread truckers' protest, called the ‘Freedom Convoy', according to various media reports.

As part of the Act, crowdfunding platforms and payment services providers, which include crypto exchanges and other crypto financing platforms, must now register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).

https://www.outlookindia.com/business/funds-used-for-crypto-transactions-under-scanner-in-canada-bitcoin-dogecoin-rise-news-182525

New details about the source of millions of dollars supporting the Canadian trucker convoy suggest many of the larger donors are wealthy Canadians, though one of the biggest contributions was made in the name of an American tech entrepreneur.

Leaked data said to be from the GiveSendGo crowdfunding platform, posted last night to a now-defunct web page by anonymous hackers, lists records of more than 92,000 donations totaling more than $8 million. A review of the data shows that some $4.3 million came from Canada, while an additional $3.6 million originated in the United States, though the United States accounted for the most individual donations. Small donations from dozens of other countries made up a fraction of the total amount raised.

One of the largest donations, for $90,000, is attributed to Thomas M. Siebel, a billionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor. He did not respond to a request for comment sent to the email address listed in the records and to his company.

Others who made donations ranging from $10,000 to $75,000 appear to be mostly Canadian business owners, with a few Americans in the mix.

Brad Howland, president of a New Brunswick-based company that makes pressure washers, appears in the leaked data as having donated $75,000, leaving the comment: “Hold the line!” In an email, Mr. Howland confirmed he was a donor, saying the protests “will go down in the history books.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/world/canada/canada-trucker-protests-donations.html

Cryptocurrency prices were surging Tuesday following reports that Russian troops were pulling back from the Ukraine border.

Bitcoin was up 4.3% to $44,323 at last check, according to Coindesk, while ethereum rose 6% to $3,117 and dogecoin was up nearly 3% to $0.150003.

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/cryptocurrency/bitcoin-crypto-prices-surging-as-russian-troops-pullback

The crypto marketing blitz has arrived.

The coveted commercial breaks during Super Bowl LVI, where a 30-second spot cost as much as $7 million, featured eye-catching advertisements for crypto currency companies such as Coinbase and eToro. A-list celebrities joined the hoopla, too: Larry David appeared in an ad for FTX and LeBron James pitched for Crypto.com.

Coinbase’s minimalist 60-second spot — a colorful QR code bounced around the screen like a DVD logo — stirred up chatter on social media, and the platform appeared to crash after it aired. (The matchup between the victorious Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals was broadcast by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.)

“Showing up in the most premium real estate in all of television allows them to rent the legitimacy of that space and say, ‘We’re here and we’re part of this American tradition,’” said Jason Damata, founder and CEO of Fabric Media, a strategy and marketing company. “You get brand equity and credibility that way — trust, recognition — and that drives up purchase intent.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/many-crypto-ads-super-bowl-rcna16132