Portuguese Banks Close Accounts To Crypto Exchanges, Media Reveals – Finance Bitcoin News

Major Portuguese banks have started closing or refusing to open accounts for cryptocurrency platforms such as exchanges, according to media reports. The move threatens to tarnish the country’s image as one of Europe’s most crypto-friendly destinations, a haven for bitcoin enthusiasts.

Portuguese crypto firms hit by bank account closures

Portugal, a leading European crypto hub, is at risk of losing its attractiveness to crypto companies and talent working in the industry, as some of the biggest banks are now closing accounts of companies operating with digital currencies.

Last week, the country’s largest listed bank, Banco Comercial Portugues, and another major institution, Banco Santander, closed all the accounts of Lisbon-based Criptoloja, Bloomberg reported, citing the exchange’s co-founder and CEO Pedro Borges. The development follows the decision of two smaller banks to close the platform’s accounts.

No official explanation was given in any of these cases, the crypto founder emphasized. Meanwhile, state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depositos and Lisbon-based BiG have also started rejecting or closing crypto exchange accounts, Jornal de Negocios revealed this week.

At least two other crypto brokers have been hit by bank account closures this year, the report notes. Mind the Coin has been unable to open an account for months, and rival Luso Digital Assets had some of its accounts closed, executives complained.

Portugal’s crypto companies forced to open accounts outside the country

Anti-money laundering and know-your-customer rules are often the main reasons cited by lenders for refusing to work with crypto companies. Banco Comercial explained that it is obliged to report suspicious transactions that may lead to the termination of banking services for certain entities. Banco Santander is acting “in accordance with its perception of risk,” a representative said.

“We now have to rely on using accounts outside Portugal to operate the exchange,” admitted Cryptoloja’s founder Pedro Borges. This despite the fact that his company was the first to receive a license from the central bank last year. “Criptoloja has always informed the authorities of suspicious operations and followed all compliance procedures,” he pointed out. Mind the Coins Pedro Guimaraes added:

Although there is no official explanation, some banks just tell us that they do not want to work with crypto companies. It is almost impossible to start a crypto business in Portugal right now.

Three out of five coin trading platforms authorized by Banco de Portugal have had their accounts closed this year. While it is unclear if the trend affects other companies in the sector, it could be a sign of a tougher environment in Portugal, which lured crypto enthusiasts with its zero percent tax on crypto gains, reasonable cost of living and mild climate.

Do you expect the closure of bank accounts to affect other crypto businesses in Portugal? Tell us in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’ quote: “To be a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.