One of the largest banks, Bradesco, has notified Bitblue that its banking accounts will be closed late February, local crypto outlet Portal do ₿itcoin reported on Feb. 13.
As the outlet has learned from unnamed industry insiders, Bitblue will face the closure of its accounts in Bradesco on Feb. 26. Moreover, the decision extends to the private accounts of Bitblue owners.
Edisio Pereira, CEO of Bitblue, told Portal do ₿itcoin that the company has previously had accounts in four other financial institutions; therefore, Bitblue will not appeal against the bank’s actions. However, its co-founders and partners — whose names are not specified — will definitely appeal, as the move can affect their reputation, Pereira added.
The local Association of Crypto and Blockchain (ABCB) has already reported the case to the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), an antitrust regulator operated by country’s Ministry of Justice. In its complaint, ABCB claims that the bank has violated the rules of free competition.
CADE a probe against six major national banks — including Banco do Brasil, Banco Bradesco, Itaú Unibanco Holding and Banco Santander Brasil — in September 2018. Following several complaints about banking accounts closure, the antitrust watchdog started investigating alleged monopolistic practices in the crypto space.
In October, CADE the recent activity of the crypto exchanges themselves. The regulator sent a questionnaire to ten companies that had claimed that their rights were violated by the banks: ₿itcoin Market, Bitcambio, ₿itcoinTrade, Foxbit, Walltime, Braziliex, BitBlue, Open Digital Capital (OTC), e-juno and Profitfy.
Subsequently in October, Banco do Brasil and Santander Brasil accounts for local crypto exchange ₿itcoin Max following a preliminary decision granted by the Federal District Court. The judge ruled that the aforementioned banks failed to notify the exchange of account closure, which was treated as “abusive conduct” violating consumer protection rules.
More recently, Porto do ₿itcoin reported on a similar decision that was taken against Banco Santander Brasil, which is now obliged to reopen ₿itcoin Max accounts as well.
Published at Fri, 15 Feb 2019 13:59:00 +0000
