Cryptocurrency payment processor Coinbase has banned the WikiLeaks Shop without providing them with any explanation, reports The Gateway Pundit.
According to Gateway, the WikiLeaks Shop provides t-shirts, hoodies and other merchandise which supports their journalistic efforts. It is run by a valid Canadian business and licensing fees are paid to WikiLeaks, so nothing they are doing is in violation of any laws.
Gateway spoke to someone involved with running the shop who has asked that the news organization keep their identity anonymous for security reasons. They explained that their crypto payments have been cut off since March 22, just days before WikiLeaks founder had his internet blocked by the Ecuadorian government.
When asked by Gateway why the payments were cut off, the response from Coinbase was that they are “a regulated Money Services Business under FinCEN (FinCEN.gov), and as part of our responsibility, we are legally obligated to implement regulatory compliance mechanisms.”
FinCEN is the financial crimes enforcement network of the US Department of the Treasury.
-Robert Wenzel
When Google fired Damone, this blog said Google is a private company and can do what they want. From one blog post to the next there is no consistency.
ReplyDeleteThe point of this article is that the government is regulating Bitcoin through a private company - demonstrating that Bitcoin is not a way to escape governments.
ReplyDeleteHow does pointing this out conflict with the point that private companies are free to do what they want?