BTC Figures Challenge Canada Government as ETF Assets Hit New High

Canada’s war against bitcoin (BTC) seems to be counterproductive, as the country’s leading exchange-traded fund (ETF) adds thousands of BTC.

The data of the on-chain monitoring resource Coinglass show that For the two weeks to February 24, the Bitcoin Purpose ETF has increased its holdings from 28,854 BTC to 32,257 BTC, up 11.8%.

Institutions Shrug Off Canadian Crypto Restriction Measures

After a two-month break in which its holdings fell slightly, Purpose is back in fashion among institutional investors.

BTC shares of the Bitcoin Purpose ETF. Source: Coinglass

The turnaround comes against a backdrop of what many are calling an “announcement” for bitcoin; The Canadian government rejects private wallets and formally tries to silence exchanges that advise users to take control of their private keys.

The reason is the legislators’ goal to control and seize the financial assets of anyone who contributes to – or is associated with – the truckers’ protest movement.

“For Canada to warn everyone to take their coins off the exchanges because they will be taken away is the most incredible publicity for bitcoin I have ever seen”, wrote this week podcast host Dennis Porter.

Samson Mow, Blockstream CSO, he referred to the recent decision to keep ad infinitum the emergency powers that allowed surveillance.

Canada is an example of why money should be money and not a surveillance tool. What is legal or illegal can change with a wave of the emergency powers“, warned.

“If you’re not 100% sure you’ll always be on the right side of those in power, you’d better buy bitcoin.”

Foreign crypto firms have already been targeted by the government scheme, notably US exchange Kraken and hardware wallet provider Nunchuk.the first for a single tweet from CEO Jesse Powell.

Exchange BTC reserves fall to new lows

beyond Canada, demand for bitcoin from those using both retail and derivative exchanges shows a clear direction: up.

The data of the CryptoQuant on-chain analysis platform confirm that exchange balances have resumed a firmer downward trend in recent days and are back at multi-year lows.

As of February 22, the balance on the 21 major exchange platforms monitored by CryptoQuant was 2.37 million BTC.

Chart of bitcoin exchange reserves. Source: CryptoQuant

Cointelegraph has often reported on this trend, which comes despite the bitcoin price having fallen more than 50% from its all-time highs three months ago.

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