[2018-05-30] BitBay, the largest exchange in Poland, suspends its activities

[Thadeous]

Bank Shutout Forces Major Polish Crypto Exchange to Move to Malta

Bitbay, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Poland, has decided to suspend its activities in the country as banks will no longer cooperate with the company, the exchange announced May 29. The exchange will instead be conducted by a new supplier in the jurisdiction of the Republic of Malta, where local laws are more crypto-friendly.

Bitbay states that their business in Poland is contingent upon cooperation with national banks, but the last Polish bank ready to provide services to the exchange decided to cease its business with the exchange at the end May.

Bitbay will terminate the user contract to provide services, observing a notice period of one month which expires on September 17. After May 31, users will no longer be able to access their accounts in Polish złotys (PLN), while all other functions of the exchange will be active. Following the notice period, that is after September 17, users will only be able to withdraw funds. As of that date all trading activities on the exchange in Poland will be suspended.

According to the press release, users will be able to create a new account once BitBay resumes operations in Malta. The exchange will be conducted by a new supplier, but will use the bitbay.net domain name and BitBay trademark.

Bitbay’s relocation comes amid a wake of toughening policy from the Polish government toward cryptocurrencies. Though Poland officially recognizes digital currency mining and trading, the government’s overall stance in regards to crypto has become more critical in recent months.

In the beginning of May, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) placed a tender order of around $173,000 to plan and conduct a social media campaign focused on the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, pyramid schemes, and forex trading. In February, the Central bank of Poland paid about $25,000 to produce an anti-crypto video in collaboration with Polish YouTube partner network Gamellon, Google Ireland Limited, and Facebook Ireland Limited.

BitBay currently trades 29 different digital assets and at press time has a market capitalization of $9,270,725.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bank-shutout-forces-major-polish-crypto-exchange-to-move-to-malta

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[vit05]

This is the great fight of any exchange around the world. Banks are constantly creating problems in this relationship. And they find the worst excuses to deny a service. I do not know if it's fear, if it's a legal issue or if it could be some bureaucratic problem.

We need more solutions that involve facilitating the fiat-Bitcoin exchange. p2p is still one of the best, but still, at some point, a person will need a bank in most transactions.

The coinbase path seems to be quite interesting. If you can not use them, camouflage yourself as if you were one of them. Small banks should intercede and take advantage of this opportunity by facilitating this relationship.

[Kemarit]

I'm not surprised by the bitch move of the Polish government, A few months ago, it was reported that Polish Banks are secretly funding Youtubers to attack bitcoin, sort of a smear campaigns against bitcoin:

http://bitcoinist.com/polish-central-bank-paid-youtubers-low-dirty-smear-campaign-cryptocurrency/

So its either Bitpay in Poland go somewhere else like Malta, which Binance already otherwise their business will just dry up in Poland. Its sad that Poland its against bitcoin, but there are other options for a trading exchanges out there and I'm sure that Polish bitcoin community are totally devastated by this news.

[senin]

Nothing wrong. In the world there are countries that are friendly to the crypto-currency, which will accept crypto-exchange exchanges and exchangers for their territory. Let it even be such offshore zones as Malta. For the holders of the crypto currency, the distance and place do not play a value. But Poland is deprived of the opportunity to have its share of profits from the exchange in the form of taxes.

[BitBay*]

Due to many questions about our transfer to Malta, we publish a list of information that we would like to clarify.  

❔ What if you are moving with BitBay to Malta?  ???

1) Your funds are safe. After moving to Malta, nothing changes. It's for free. Login, password and 2FA remain the same. Balances in crypto and fiat will be completely transferred as well. We will not cancel your offers. Transactions within the exchange will be made between users from both Poland and Malta.

2) If you have a verified account, it will still be verified after the transfer.

3) After transferring to Malta, deposits and withdrawals of PLN are available. A Polish bank supports them. Your transfers will be made just as quickly. We are planning to increase the number of sessions from 1 to 3 per day, in order to further improve the quality of use of our platform. We also plan to integrate express deposits and withdrawals.

4) Deposits and withdrawals of EUR and USD are available on BitBay Malta, and the bank accounts are also in a Polish bank.

5) Deposits at Polish Post Office and withdrawals at ATMs for customers after the transfer remain available as before.

6) All markets for trade remain available, and we are only working on adding new ones

❔What if you do not decide to move with BitBay to Malta?  

1) If someone does not decide to transfer the account to Malta, HIS ACCOUNT WILL NOT BE BLOCKED, and he will not lose access to funds deposited on it. Deposits to your account in Poland can be made no later than 30 May. From 31st of May, it will only be possible to pay out all funds deposited on the account without the possibility to deposit them there once again.

2) All markets remain available. Date 17th of September is the date of a THEORETIC suspension of services for users who have not decided to transfer. However, if their number is large, the change of the term will be considered.

Do not be mistaken by the name of the Maltese company. It does not sound like BitBay but it is BitBay! This is purely legal, many platforms in the world have a different company name in relation to the name of the platform. You do not have to worry about anything.


For the sake of proper communication, we would like to ask you for feedback. Do you have any objection about moving to Malta? Please, make us know, to improve the communication! We would be very grateful for any information.

[milewilda]

I'm not surprised by the bitch move of the Polish government, A few months ago, it was reported that Polish Banks are secretly funding Youtubers to attack bitcoin, sort of a smear campaigns against bitcoin:

http://bitcoinist.com/polish-central-bank-paid-youtubers-low-dirty-smear-campaign-cryptocurrency/

So its either Bitpay in Poland go somewhere else like Malta, which Binance already otherwise their business will just dry up in Poland. Its sad that Poland its against bitcoin, but there are other options for a trading exchanges out there and I'm sure that Polish bitcoin community are totally devastated by this news.

Not surprised for that shady move made by them if government of a certain country dont like bitcoin or crypto then they would really do such things no matter what the cost. This would really be a devastating news for those Bitcoin or crypto enthusiast or users in that place. They will play dirty if they want and we cant do anything about it but to accept such decision but still there are lots of choices on where we can do make conversions but seeing gradually decreasing its not really good in the eyes.

[Thadeous]

I'm not surprised by the bitch move of the Polish government, A few months ago, it was reported that Polish Banks are secretly funding Youtubers to attack bitcoin, sort of a smear campaigns against bitcoin:

http://bitcoinist.com/polish-central-bank-paid-youtubers-low-dirty-smear-campaign-cryptocurrency/

So its either Bitpay in Poland go somewhere else like Malta, which Binance already otherwise their business will just dry up in Poland. Its sad that Poland its against bitcoin, but there are other options for a trading exchanges out there and I'm sure that Polish bitcoin community are totally devastated by this news.

Actually it's sad to see that European banks are still not ready for collaboration with crypto institutions. But it won't last long.
The amount of businesses and companies involved into crypto industry dramatically grew these days, so banks will have to tolerate with it anyway.

[darkangel11]

AFAIK they were planning to move out of Poland after their government started to put pressure on exchanges to reveal the names and crypto addresses of their clients. In other words the government is trying to actively track every bitcoin user by using the crypto addresses used by them on exchanges. I've also read about another Polish exchange bitmarket24, which moved abroad right after receiving a letter from a government agency. Stupid governments end up poor.

[Slow death]

This year such cases are getting worse every week, it seems like it is an undeclared war that the banks are doing against bitcoin ... the question now is; When will the situation normalize? I mean when will it be that all governments will legalize bitcoin and the banks will accept bitcoin without problems? this is a great obstacle that we must overcome in the next few years.

Small banks should intercede and take advantage of this opportunity by facilitating this relationship.

unfortunately many banks are controlled by corrupt politicians, if the government says anything, even if it is a simple informal recommendation, these corrupt politicians apply it as if it were a law or a central bank order. So here the question is who the banks belong to and the country the bank belongs to

[darkangel11]

unfortunately many banks are controlled by corrupt politicians, if the government says anything, even if it is a simple informal recommendation, these corrupt politicians apply it as if it were a law or a central bank order. So here the question is who the banks belong to and the country the bank belongs to

Maybe JP can save the day. Jamie Dimon had a change of heart about BTC, maybe his bank will make it easy for the exchanges, especially since they've just moved into the country. https://careers.jpmorgan.com/careers/global/en/locations/warsaw That is if by the time there are exchanges still left in Poland, because by the looks of it there may be none. # largest exchanges that used to operate in the country aren't registered there and 2 of them have moved abroad this month.

[stompix]

Bitbay states that their business in Poland is contingent upon cooperation with national banks, but the last Polish bank ready to provide services to the exchange decided to cease its business with the exchange at the end May.

3) After transferring to Malta, deposits and withdrawals of PLN are available. A Polish bank supports them. Your transfers will be made just as quickly. We are planning to increase the number of sessions from 1 to 3 per day, in order to further improve the quality of use of our platform. We also plan to integrate express deposits and withdrawals.

Well, this does make a lot of sense, right?

Nothing wrong. In the world there are countries that are friendly to the crypto-currency, which will accept crypto-exchange exchanges and exchangers for their territory. Let it even be such offshore zones as Malta.

Malta can be hardly considered off-shore.
It's part of the Eurozone and lately, it has adopted a lot of regulations imposed in the EU so anyone fleeing there, be it BitBay or Binance shouldn't feel like they've reached a safe haven.

[Thadeous]

Polish Gov’t Invites BitBay to Join Working Group as Exchange Forced to Leave Country

Recently expatriated Polish cryptocurrency exchange BitBay tweeted yesterday, May 30, that the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) has asked them to join a Blockchain Working Group.

What is this "Blockchain Working Group" about?

[darkangel11]

Polish Gov’t Invites BitBay to Join Working Group as Exchange Forced to Leave Country

Recently expatriated Polish cryptocurrency exchange BitBay tweeted yesterday, May 30, that the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) has asked them to join a Blockchain Working Group.

What is this "Blockchain Working Group" about?

After reading this:

The KNF, which has taken an active stance against cryptocurrency, posted a tender offer this month looking for a company to conduct a social media campaign about the dangers of cryptocurrency, allotting a budget of around $173,000. The KNF and Poland’s central bank have also created an anti-crypto educational website that explains why “virtual currency is not money” and “cryptocurrencies are not currency.”

We can expect what the government wants. They are treating cryptocurrencies like an invasive species attempting to take over. This "group" will be asked to educate people in the government, like tax-collectors, in the inner workings of cryptocurrencies. Basically they want the lawmen to know what to look for and how.

[stompix]

Polish Gov’t Invites BitBay to Join Working Group as Exchange Forced to Leave Country

Recently expatriated Polish cryptocurrency exchange BitBay tweeted yesterday, May 30, that the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) has asked them to join a Blockchain Working Group.

What is this "Blockchain Working Group" about?

It's a "group" aimed at researching regulation for the crypto market.
This is the letter they've received: (image loading below)


Sorry for being lazy but it's nothing important in it, so in short:

You are invited to take part in the Blockchain Working Group, created by Polish Financial Supervision Authority to deal with the subject of legal regulations related to Blockchain, cryptocurrency, and ICOs. The goal of this group is to start
the dialogue between market participants and the UKNF on the relevant legal regulations. The result of the Group's work will be a report highlighting the position of the UKNF regarding the this.

[SectorZero]

Bank Shutout Forces Major Polish Crypto Exchange to Move to Malta

Bitbay, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Poland, has decided to suspend its activities in the country as banks will no longer cooperate with the company, the exchange announced May 29. The exchange will instead be conducted by a new supplier in the jurisdiction of the Republic of Malta, where local laws are more crypto-friendly.

Bitbay states that their business in Poland is contingent upon cooperation with national banks, but the last Polish bank ready to provide services to the exchange decided to cease its business with the exchange at the end May.

Bitbay will terminate the user contract to provide services, observing a notice period of one month which expires on September 17. After May 31, users will no longer be able to access their accounts in Polish złotys (PLN), while all other functions of the exchange will be active. Following the notice period, that is after September 17, users will only be able to withdraw funds. As of that date all trading activities on the exchange in Poland will be suspended.

According to the press release, users will be able to create a new account once BitBay resumes operations in Malta. The exchange will be conducted by a new supplier, but will use the bitbay.net domain name and BitBay trademark.

Bitbay’s relocation comes amid a wake of toughening policy from the Polish government toward cryptocurrencies. Though Poland officially recognizes digital currency mining and trading, the government’s overall stance in regards to crypto has become more critical in recent months.

In the beginning of May, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) placed a tender order of around $173,000 to plan and conduct a social media campaign focused on the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, pyramid schemes, and forex trading. In February, the Central bank of Poland paid about $25,000 to produce an anti-crypto video in collaboration with Polish YouTube partner network Gamellon, Google Ireland Limited, and Facebook Ireland Limited.

BitBay currently trades 29 different digital assets and at press time has a market capitalization of $9,270,725.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bank-shutout-forces-major-polish-crypto-exchange-to-move-to-malta

Not a very large exchange. It is a pity of course the Polish crypto community. It remains to be hoped that the issue of Malta will be resolved.

[BitBay*]

Moving to Malta has opened up for us the door to space with the ability of implementing new products.

It is certainly sensational information for our users because thanks to this ability we are happy to announce 7 important introductions in the last two weeks on our exchange, within:
- trading platform - BitBay PRO, offering to customize whole exchange to your preferences and allowing to use professional tools and indicators for in-depth analysis,
- new cryptocurrencies, i.a. Monero, Zcash, Golem and OmiseGo,
- and FIAT Currency Exchange, offering express exchange of EUR, USD and PLN with 0% fee.

Products were introduced for the comfort for our users. We believe those implementations are successive and essential steps in a life of our company. At this moment we plan to listen to users’ feedback to improve BitBay PRO in BETA version.


Enjoy information about implements:
BitBay PRO: https://bitbay.net/pro/en/
FIAT Currency Exchange: https://bitbay.net/en/helpdesk/my-account/how-to-use-the-fiat-exchange
Cryptocurrencies: https://bitbay.net/en/release/golem
https://bitbay.net/en/release/omisego
https://bitbay.net/en/release/monero
https://bitbay.net/en/release/zcash

Thank you all for your support and given trust.


Contact us via:
https://www.facebook.com/BitBay
https://twitter.com/BitBay
https://instagram.com/bitbayofficial/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bitbay/


BitBay is your best space for cryptocurrency trading!

[webtricks]

But Poland is deprived of the opportunity to have its share of profits from the exchange in the form of taxes.

True! I have seen many countries like Poland and India which are insisting exchanges to halt their operations instead of nationwide ban on crypto. Hence people are using other options like selling them on P2P platforms, buying commodity from other countries, etc. This enables them to escape any taxation imposed by such countries. We can say this is to be shortsightedness of the governments, instead of appointing committee of professionals which can prepare right regulations and reports for cryptocurrencies, they are taking arbitrary decisions and thus losing themselves.

[darkangel11]

Moving to Malta has opened up for us the door to space with the ability of implementing new products.

I think that you should be putting these announcements in an appropriate section (for instance services, service discussion) instead of doing it here in an old press thread.
You will get much more attention as more people spend time in services than here and it will make it better organized and allow more people to comment. It's good that your exchange decided to run away from oppressive laws and is growing.

[hotforblockchain]

This is surprising since the EU as whole is relatively friendly and welcoming to Cryptos, they are recognising the potential and currently working on  regulations regarding this matter.

Regarding the Polish gov, it is just stupid, they are losing companies - exchanges in their country which can give their economy tax money. it does not matter if they dont like the exchanges, Poland is SEPA payment country , it means that bank transfers to other EU countries takes the same time as in internal bank system of Poland. Therefore polish people can easily access exchanges in other countries.