The Bundy Ranch has had its PayPal accounts blocked. The Bundys, a US family of cattle ranchers in Nevada, rose to fame (notoriety?) in 2014 for refusing to pay the federal government for grazing rights on federal lands. This conflict resulted in an armed standoff between federal agents and supporters of the Bundys, many of them members of private militias from across the country. The standoff ended without violence, and members of the Bundy family had been receiving donations in support of their plight through PayPal. The Facebook page run to support the Bundy family and their struggle against the federal government posted the bad news early on Tuesday morning: Another nail in the coffin of traditional payment systems as a reliable donation source The refusal of mainstream payment systems to deal with controversial groups or subjects only underscores the need for decentralized tools, such as Bitcoin, to fill the void and fulfill the role of servicing parties who may experience government pressure. Robert Genito , CEO of Genitrust, thinks that these actions will only further push more and more high-profile causes away from traditional payment platforms and towards Bitcoin. He says to CoinTelegraph: “Let’s be frank: PayPal’s actions will only stimulate Bundy Ranch to become their own bank. It’s clear that Bundy Ranch does not need PayPal. Thanks to these continuing trends of circumstances with financial blockades, Bundy Ranch will become yet another example to others on how to become their own bank and claim their financial freedom.” Genito believes that the continuing practices of the financial industry towards dissidents, combined with freely available decentralized financial technology, will only contribute to the rise of cryptocurrency and the concept of self-banking among the general public. He explains: “As these occurrences happen to more and more companies and individuals, this […]
