Known for his crypto-friendly demeanor Portugalmay lose this definition after recent news. According to new news in the press, major banks operating in Portugal have begun to close the bank accounts of platforms based on crypto assets, especially cryptocurrency exchanges, and refuse to open new ones.
Bloombergquoting the words of Pedro Borges, the exchange’s co-founder and CEO, last week the country’s largest listed bank Banco Comercial Portugues and Banco Santander, another major institution, reported that Lisbon-based Criptoloja has closed all accounts. The development followed the decision of two small banks to close the accounts of the platform.
The crypto entrepreneur also underlined that no official statement was made in any of these cases. According to this news, which is based on Jornal de Negocios, state bank Caixa Geral de Depositos and Lisbon-based BiG also seem to have started to refuse or close their crypto exchange accounts.
According to the report, at least two more crypto brokers have been affected by bank account closures this year. Mind the Coin has not been able to open an account for months and has closed some of its rival Luso Digital Assets accounts, platform managers complained after the events.
Portugal Forces Crypto Businesses to Open Accounts Outside the Country
Anti-money laundering and know-your-customer (KYC) rules are the main reasons often cited by lenders who refuse to work with crypto companies. Banco Comercial announced that it is obligated to report suspicious transactions that may result in the termination of banking services for some organizations. A representative said Banco Santander was “acting on the perception of risk”.
“We now have to use accounts outside of Portugal to run the exchange,” Pedro Borges, the founder of Criptoloja, shared. This got a lot of attention as the company was the first company to receive a license from the central bank last year, but was an announcement that came in. Criptoloja always informed the authorities about suspicious transactions and emphasized that they followed all compliance procedures. Pedro Guimaraes of Mind the Coin added:
“Although there is no official statement, some banks just cryptocurrency explains that they do not want to work with their company. It is almost impossible to start a crypto business in Portugal right now.”
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Disclaimer: What is written here is not investment advice. Cryptocurrency investments are high-risk investments. Every investment decision is under the individual’s own responsibility. Finally, Koinfinans and the author of this content cannot be held responsible for personal investment decisions.