“We had just tripled our customer base in a two to three month period,” explains Gatecoin’s Thomas Glucksmann, “the price of bitcoin was rallying, the amount of money clients were depositing was increasing – the timing couldn’t have been worse.”
He’s speaking of a sudden, abrupt move this Fall by Hang Seng Bank. Gatecoin’s account would be suspended.
Gatecoin is a cryptocurrency for fiat exchange based in Hong Kong.
“It was a major disruption to our business,” Mr. Glucksmann recounts.
“Hong Kong’s bitcoin entrepreneurs say they have been forced to open bank accounts overseas to operate their businesses,” the article continues, “after local banks froze or closed their accounts.”
Fubon Bank, Gatecoin’s other account, then limited daily transaction amounts, which meant essentially shutting it down.
Bitcoin is its Own Bank
The rub of course is bitcoin’s reason for being: users are their own banks. As reality is now, however, most people hold some kind of fiat currency, so to be able to switchover or invest, they must rely, at least initially, upon legacy banking.
Bankers all over the world have openly worried about bitcoin’s ability to flout anti-money laundering (AML) and strict know-your-customer (KYC) regulations. Businesses in the ecosystem are very aware of these requirements. “We have always wanted to make sure that we can associate every bank transfer coming in and out with the name of the client that has registered with us and we have all their [KYC] information,” Mr. Glucksmann assured.
In turn, Gatecoin had to suspend their clients’ transfers.
Read more
https://news.bitcoin.com/hong-kong-bitcoin-businesses-are-frozen-out-of-banking/
