Police freeze $10 mln funds for Hong Kong protestors, financial freedom with Bitcoin is coming

By Selena 12/20/19 4:49 AM

To handle the protest in Hong Kong, police have teamed up with China to freeze a fund for captured and injured protesters. Perhaps after this, the use of Bitcoin will become stronger and stronger in Hong Kong.

Financial freedom with Bitcoin has never been more clear in Hong Kong

People are increasingly looking to Bitcoin when their finances are severely compromised. And when global financial autonomy is directly affected, the case for Bitcoin becomes clearer. Throughout 2019, running out of banking and ATM operations has made us skeptical in the next crisis. Even in October 2019, Chilean ATMs were locked in an emergency.

The Chilean government is murdering innocent people on the streets, i have a friend in Chile. She said she has no access to money and they’ve closed all of the supermarkets, Atms are locked. This is who we are up against. People are getting mass murdered by the government. pic.twitter.com/XGuIDUFm8D

— [₿]Sam [Jan/3➞₿ ?? ₿?∎] (@PumpkinToshi) October 21, 2019

That same month, Bitcoin transaction volume soared when Hong Kong residents found themselves locked out of ATM.

Run on banks: ATMs out of money across Hong Kong. Many queuing up to withdraw. Many have run out of cash. #HongKongProtests #AntiELAB #FreeHongKong

Should we all line up at ATMs as an act of civil disobedience?

Source- LIHKG pic.twitter.com/DtC9c0toUi

— Hong Kong World City ??☔️ (@HKWORLDCITY) October 5, 2019

Hong Kong police just froze HK $ 70 million ($ 10 million) in funds for injured and arrested protesters. Four related members were arrested and charged with money laundering. The crackdown began with the Spark Alliance, a nonprofit platform that started in 2016 to collect donations for activists and anti-Beijing efforts. The platform serves as an essential financial pipeline to support critics of Beijing’s crackdown, allowing users to put their money in their political beliefs. This is now severely restricted as the police expand their investigation.

The Hong Kong police claimed that the money was used for other purposes, such as a shell company and personal insurance products. Last month, HSBC cut off all ties with the Spark Alliance due to these allegations.

Bitcoin does not and will never be controlled

With Hong Kong’s financial autonomy becoming increasingly tightened, cryptocurrencies provide its citizens and the rest of the world, an alternative to fiat. Beijing or any state cannot censor Bitcoin, and therefore is an ideal replacement for those who want to mine fiat currency to take control.

Therefore, the situation in Hong Kong should be a lesson for the whole world. Given that digital fiat currencies only become more popular, countries will undoubtedly take advantage of this to quell dissent and opposition. Bitcoin, not operated by a central authority, has no ‘restrictions’ on who can use it or how to use it. Being open to everyone, it’s an expression of financial autonomy. Given the situation in Hong Kong, this is ultimately essential.