You have always had to use an exchange. It used to be only Uphold with no other options. Then they added contract with Gemini. This was the only way to access your BAT/vBAT for any purpose other than tipping Creators.
I don’t know if you’re deliberately trying to be obfuscating, but that’s not what happened at all. I never used an exchange until this happened: vBAT is eliminated (taking effect in April 2023). So Brave forced its users to transfer their balances to one of the two exchanges or lose the vBAT even if it was just for tipping. Why are we debating this?
Not sure what you’re referencing except for Gemini moving away from Canada. And that actually caught Brave by surprise as well. People sharing that they received the email saying it would no longer be available in Canada is the first anyone at Brave learned of it. This was only done due to changing regulations in the country as well. Other exchanges like Binance, Kraken, etc have left Canada as well.
The timing is dubious. The fact that Brave killed vBAT before finding a solution is dubious and one hell of a coincidence.
Also, I should advise you to pay attention to the Terms of Service you agreed to when you started using Brave Rewards. It mentions all the risk of using, including support being lost. You accepted that, though most likely without ever reading it and understanding. But that’s all on you if you never did pay close attention but agreed to something, saying you read through it.
Ah, so we’re entering have you even read the ToS land. No wonder regulators are cracking down on enterprises dealing with cryptocurrencies. This is precisely why they’re being regulated. No morals or ethics. Land of the rugpulls and casino scam coins.