The protests in Canada have gotten out of hand. It started with a few truckers who were frustrated by the fact that they had to get vaccinated or quarantined after crossing the border between Canada and the USA. Within a few weeks the protest affected the whole nation and now the honking won’t stop.

Many people now claim that these recent events prove that Bitcoin is becoming more important than ever – but why?

Trudeau invokes emergency act

With major roads being blocked along with the country’s capital, prime minister Justin Trudeau invoked an emergency act. This allows him and the rest of the government to override civil rights to restore the public order. The decision caused a controversy in the country among political leaders as well as on social media.

The Canadian government tries to cut the protests funding. Banks and payments providers don’t need to wait for a judge to decide whether freezing or suspending accounts is lawful or not. Once an account is associated within certain activities it becomes easy for authorities to target protestors funding and in effect also their livelihoods.

It doesn’t really matter if you agree or disagree with the protestors or the government. What is important here is that the escalation of this conflict underlines one of the most important aspects about Bitcoin.

Be your own bank!

While the Canadian government is also monitoring cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada, the Bitcoin network itself cannot be stopped or censored in any way. Let’s imagine for a second what happens if any other government is trying to deal with dissidents or an unwanted minority.

Canada is a highly developed country with a robust democracy and eventually things will go back to normal once the blockades are dealt with. But there is at least the theoretical possibility that even developed countries could fall under tyranny.

That being said, having access to Bitcoin in your own wallet is the only thing that any individual could do to ultimately protect access to financial services. Having some Bitcoin is like building a dam. Of course, the Rhine will probably never rise to level of 10 meters but if it does you absolutely want that dam to be in place and prevent a flood!

It is probably better to have Bitcoin and not needing it than needing Bitcoin and not having it.