The cryptocurrency world is always changing and evolving. Not all of these developments will make a positive impact, though. In Chile, banks are closing the accounts of cryptocurrency exchanges and traders alike. This is not a unique development, but it goes to show South America’s wealthiest nation has no love lost for Bitcoin.
Chilean Banks Make Their Move
In this day and age, it is anything but surprising to learn that banks in certain countries make life more difficult for cryptocurrency companies and enthusiasts. Such developments have become rather apparent in a lot of countries over the years, even though nations such as Japan and South Korea take the opposite approach. Which option will work out best remains to be determined at this point.
In Chile, it seems the country’s banks are making their mark on the cryptocurrency industry in a negative way. With several trading platforms having their bank accounts closed for no apparent reason, the situation has grown dire. This issue currently affects Buda, Orionx, and CryptoMarket, although other companies may be suffering from similar issues as well.
What makes this development so worrisome is that none of these companies use the same primary bank. Instead, a joint decision has been made by several financial institutions to shut down the bank accounts of cryptocurrency trading firms. With no explanation for this harsh course of action, it is only normal that there will be a lot of backlash over this particular decision.
Struggles like these are not uncommon in the world of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It is the first time such a development has taken place within Chile, though, as the country has been relatively quiet on the cryptocurrency front so far. At the same time, it seems this “blanket ban” on cryptocurrency will not relent anytime soon, although not every financial institution in the country is taking this aggressive stance as of right now.
One possible reason for this development is that local entrepreneurs have begun creating their own cryptocurrencies in recent months. Both Chaucha and Luka are two such currencies, although it remains to be seen how popular those tokens really are. Even so, the affected exchanges only process a small amount of trading volume on a daily basis, which should not warrant such a ban against this industry at this stage.
For the time being, we will have to wait and see how things play out. The lack of active cryptocurrency regulation in Chile will need to be addressed in the near future. If this news is any indication, that regulation may not favor cryptocurrencies. With a Chilean court currently reviewing this decision, it remains to be determined whether any positive changes will be noted in the weeks and months to come.
