PayPal Shuts Down Secure Messaging Service ProtonMail’s Crowdfunding Account
In another example of why Bitcoin is probably best for online transactions, the mercurial PayPal has shut down ProtonMail’s account, freezing $270,000 in limbo until “questions” are “answered” regarding the cash. PayPal is quite good at shutting down popular funding efforts including, most notably, Wikileak’s donation provider a few years ago.
Writes Andy Yen, co-founder of the platform:
ProtonMail, you’ll recall, is a secure mail program designed to encrypt messages in the browser before they reach the mail server. They raised $284,008 on Indiegogo so far. Folks interested in avoiding the black hole of PayPal can send pledges to ProtonMail’s Bitcoin wallet and get the same perks. This also points to the urgent need for BTC adoption by both major crowdfunding organizations because PayPal is dangerous.
Paypal had this comment:
In the case of ProtonMail, a technical problem this week resulted in PayPal applying restrictions to the account. We have contacted ProtonMail today to solve this and can confirm that ProtonMail is able to receive or send funds through PayPal again. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.