Portuguese Banks Stop the use of Cryptos (Bitcoin)

[Mate2237]

On the 5th of August, 2022, bitcoin news. Portuguese Banks Stop using crypto (bitcoin) for exchange in the their local banks. That is the users of bitcoin or the bitcoiners can buy and sell bitcoin and othe crypto currencies in the country. But even though the bitcoiners can not use and exchange bitcoin in the country, they can go to a near by country to do the exchange but it will still affect them in their own country unless they permanently stay in the country. https://news.bitcoin.com/portuguese-banks-close-accounts-of-crypto-exchanges-media-reveals

[o48o]

Weird, i thought this would be nice income revenue for portugal as others are tighting their grip on cryptos. But i guess you have to follow the big guys when the lobbying and peer pressure is just too high.

[Yogee]

...But even though the bitcoiners can not use and exchange bitcoin in the country, they can go to a near by country to do the exchange but it will still affect them in their own country unless they permanently stay in the country.

Portugal's Central Bank hasn't revoked the operating license issued to these crypto exchange firms so that means regular crypto users can still trade bitcoin in these platforms. It seems other local banks are open in accepting deposits from these exchanges so they can still move their funds there.

[ultrloa]

On the 5th of August, 2022, bitcoin news. Portuguese Banks Stop using crypto (bitcoin) for exchange in the their local banks. That is the users of bitcoin or the bitcoiners can buy and sell bitcoin and othe crypto currencies in the country. But even though the bitcoiners can not use and exchange bitcoin in the country, they can go to a near by country to do the exchange but it will still affect them in their own country unless they permanently stay in the country. https://news.bitcoin.com/portuguese-banks-close-accounts-of-crypto-exchanges-media-reveals

Not surprising since bank really doesn't have clear stands towards the real score of legitimacy upon transacting crypto to them maybe there government trying to control the full rotation of crypto into their ecosystem that's why banks start to open up this case. But don't worry with that since for sure bitcoin users in that country will find many ways to exchange there bitcoin since there are so many choices available online and they can still exchange BTC to USD so there's no big deal on what banks decisions done with it.

[n0nce]

That's interesting. I was under the assumption that Purtugal was trying to be rather crypto-friendly.
An example would be that Bitcoin-based apartment sale earlier this year.

An apartment in Braga, Portugal was directly sold for bitcoin for the first time in the country, without needing a conversion into euros.

Source: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/first-ever-direct-house-sale-for-bitcoin-in-portugal

This is what we need for the Bitcoin adoption as a currency, we don't need to fucking care with the value in fiat. If we always need to convert Bitcoin's price to fiat when we need to pay something, fiat wouldn't ever get replaced by Bitcoin.

1 BTC = 1 BTC

And tax-free cryptocurrency earnings.

Did you know that cryptocurrency is tax-free in Portugal? The country has announced several incentives over the years and today cryptocurrency traders and miners enjoy Portugal’s crypto-friendly environment. Earnings from crypto are exempt from VAT in the country and there’s little legal and regulatory burden on cryptocurrency businesses.

That was apparently last updated less than 2 weeks ago.

[Hydrogen]

Doesn't portugal have 50% youth unemployment? (Ages 19-24).

A high percentage of youth in the country may statistically have no job. And no bank account. Bitcoin in portugal could be yet another case of the unbanked demographic adopting crypto as a digital payment option. Due to banks refusing to lower their standards enough to become viable to the lowest entry level customers.

Bank based crypto bans mainly target whales and larger investors. They ban will be ineffective on them, as whales travel enough to get around it.

This doesn't achieve much aside from limiting portugal's financial options and economic growth. The gains of which can be enjoyed by el salvador and others who adopt a more pro bitcoin stance.

[jossiel]

It's better to have another source for easier understanding on this news.

Based on Coindesk: Here's Why Portuguese Banks Are Closing Crypto Exchange Accounts

The main reason is all about the worry of money laundering or any other criminal acts. And this is not all about people stopping trading or using cryptocurrencies but the same thing happen somewhere in Asia IIRC that a bank, closes the account of an exchange.

It's just the bank closes the bank account of the crypto exchanges that had an account of them.

[franky1]

though countries (government) become crypto happy
banks(economy) have to follow certain laws and policies aswell as safeguard their own risks

it doesnt matter if the destination service is offering beanie babies. gold, crypto or iphones. its what users and the service itself is doing in regards to its utility with the bank

over the last decade we have seen many crypto happy countries still have protective banking systems and here is the ultimate reasons the banks get heavy handed

1. some crypto platform customers deposit funds to the exchange, buy coin, withdraw coin and then claim TO THE BANK that someone hacked the persons bank account and stole funds to then pass to the exchange which red flags the service as a facilitator of criminal acts.

2. bank customer do the obvious 'just under limit' multiple deposits which flag up suspicions of laundering/tax evasion by the bank where as the crypto service does not reciprocally also flag up the deposits they get as suspicious which causes issues that either the bank is doing too much reporting or the service is not reporting enough and the communications between them of lack of sharing data causes issues with regulators that they are not getting like for like SARS from both sides about the customer. thus they get bad notes from regulators

3. tax avoidance claims from the countries treasury where crypto service can be seen as facilitating tax evaders.

thus its not about the crypto(blockchain asset) itself but the malicious stuff some bank customers try to do with their fiat via the platforms of crypto services

..
yep here in the UK years ago my bank was a little off-sh about crypto.
even before finalising a deposit the bank wanted to question the purpose
after a conversation they openly explained its their risk assessment due to alot of users doing charge back schemes and such

they were not accusing me or anyone after all even from my first deposit it was obvious i was not on their radar and im not that sort of person to do that crap. but they were very risk adverse

more recently i was surprised that i still get passed to a team that check for the purpose of the deposit to a well known exchange, and the similar questions were asked questioning to ensure i am who i say i am and i am giving informed consent to send the funds to well known exchanges, due to my bank having alot of fraud(chargeback scams) performed by other users trying to swindle the crypto platforms)
they also informed me its also to ensure some of their customer are not being scammed/blackmailed out of fiat to buy btc to then hand that btc to cyber criminals/hackers

they let my transaction through but even after like 8 years between experiences i thought they would have settled down a bit or put other automated mechanisms in place(though i must say my fiat transfer was alot more then a few months of normal income, so i  can understand their need to double check)

so again its not to do with btc specifically its about malicious people using the banking crypto services to perform criminal acts

[Darker45]

Are you sure this is actually what's being said in the news? The news is not about exchanging Bitcoin in the banks. It's not what this is all about. This is about banks closing the accounts of crypto exchanges on the ground that crypto could be used for money laundering.

But I see incoherence here. First, these exchanges are legally operating and approved by no less than the central bank and the regulating authorities, which means that they are all AML-compliant. So why are these banks making decisions that are in effect a contestation against the approval and the issuance of license from the central bank and the country's regulating bodies themselves?

Second, the decision is basically grounded on fear, potential, or possibility. But does fiat money not have the same potential? Is fiat money not being laundered every minute of the day? Have they not checked the figures which says up to trillions in USD are actually laundered every year? That's larger than the entire Bitcoin or even crypto market cap. So why are they not imposing the same decision on fiat if it's this fear that they're taking into consideration?

[Poker Player]

That's interesting. I was under the assumption that Purtugal was trying to be rather crypto-friendly.

Your assumption was right, at least until recently.

"The move threatens to tarnish the country’s image as one of Europe’s most crypto-friendly destinations, a haven for bitcoin enthusiasts."

(from the article linked by OP)

There were people from other European countries who had moved there for that reason.

I am afraid this is along the lines of what we have discussed in other threads. The European Union wants to impose KYC for all transactions, of any amount, something for which a draft bill has already been approved, a law is underway, and at least some ATMs are starting to implement. I don't see much future for crypto-friendly countries within the European Union. They are going to want Bitcoin to be as controlled as stock trades and/or bank transfers.

[buwaytress]

Just spoke to a guy in Portugal. Says no difference for him but it could be that these things take time to show their impact.

Just like any other rando news to come out, clarity will come, with time, but doubt crypto earning freelancers and remote workers need to worry.

[Lucius]

It's better to have another source for easier understanding on this news.

Based on Coindesk: Here's Why Portuguese Banks Are Closing Crypto Exchange Accounts

The main reason is all about the worry of money laundering or any other criminal acts. And this is not all about people stopping trading or using cryptocurrencies but the same thing happen somewhere in Asia IIRC that a bank, closes the account of an exchange.

It's just the bank closes the bank account of the crypto exchanges that had an account of them.

It is a decision of several banks that no longer want to do business with crypto exchanges and that is their legitimate right. I am surprised that someone discovered this just now, because it has been happening since the beginning of this year (maybe even earlier) and has nothing to do with any decisions of the Portuguese government and their regulatory agencies. Doesn't anyone remember all those banks in various parts of the world that did the same thing?

Crypto exchanges will simply find other banks where they will open their accounts, and given that Portugal is in the EU and the Eurozone, nothing important will change for their clients.

[Fortify]

On the 5th of August, 2022, bitcoin news. Portuguese Banks Stop using crypto (bitcoin) for exchange in the their local banks. That is the users of bitcoin or the bitcoiners can buy and sell bitcoin and othe crypto currencies in the country. But even though the bitcoiners can not use and exchange bitcoin in the country, they can go to a near by country to do the exchange but it will still affect them in their own country unless they permanently stay in the country. https://news.bitcoin.com/portuguese-banks-close-accounts-of-crypto-exchanges-media-reveals

At present it seems to only be affecting the bank accounts of companies tied into crypto exchanges. It is bad for the Portuguese economy because those customers will just buy online from other European countries. It's good there is no restriction currently on the customer level, but it's a bad omen for this to happen out of the blue. There must be some government level pressure and this could be a signal of further banning in future. Let's hope all existing customer crypto is safe.

[kryptqnick]

Going to nearby country to sell BTC? You mean, like, literally go abroad just to perform a transaction? I think it's not a viable solution at all, as it requires too much time and is probably costly. But from the article it seems like they're closing business accounts (accounts of exchanges, not of customers).
I wonder what's causing this new policy... If it's KYC that's enforced by some law, then why can't an exchange require KYC and easily open an account? Or would that lead to such a significant shrinking of customers that it's not worth it?
I'm sorry that the companies will seek other countries to open accounts, as that means money flowing out of the Portugese economy. I hope the situation will be fixed.

[Vaskiy]

The true news is about the closing of bank account connected with cryptocurrency exchanges. These cryptocurrency exchanges are provided with licence to function in the country. By the time banks were also given the rights to close the exchange accounts if required. The banks now fear that we might find difficulty as it can help with money laundering. This is the reason why bank accounts were closed.

[The Cryptovator]

Isn't ridiculous that you can go nearby country to sell your Bitcoin but you can't sell Portugal? But they want to prevent money laundering. Isn't that a suicide le decision? It's just nonsense, banks not getting themselves what they are doing. Still can money Laundering and still can use Bitcoin. But the bank will lose revenue. The summary is Bank don't like a decentralized ecosystem where they don't have control over that.

[jossiel]

It's better to have another source for easier understanding on this news.

Based on Coindesk: Here's Why Portuguese Banks Are Closing Crypto Exchange Accounts

The main reason is all about the worry of money laundering or any other criminal acts. And this is not all about people stopping trading or using cryptocurrencies but the same thing happen somewhere in Asia IIRC that a bank, closes the account of an exchange.

It's just the bank closes the bank account of the crypto exchanges that had an account of them.

It is a decision of several banks that no longer want to do business with crypto exchanges and that is their legitimate right. I am surprised that someone discovered this just now, because it has been happening since the beginning of this year (maybe even earlier) and has nothing to do with any decisions of the Portuguese government and their regulatory agencies. Doesn't anyone remember all those banks in various parts of the world that did the same thing?

Crypto exchanges will simply find other banks where they will open their accounts, and given that Portugal is in the EU and the Eurozone, nothing important will change for their clients.

I've remembered it somehow in Asia that or in near part of it that a bank closed an exchange account, maybe that's in India.

Yeah, it's their right to close those account if it's from the exchanges as they just want to secure their business as well and can't be sure that the money deposited on them is from money laundering.

[m2017]

It's better to have another source for easier understanding on this news.

Based on Coindesk: Here's Why Portuguese Banks Are Closing Crypto Exchange Accounts

The main reason is all about the worry of money laundering or any other criminal acts. And this is not all about people stopping trading or using cryptocurrencies but the same thing happen somewhere in Asia IIRC that a bank, closes the account of an exchange.

It's just the bank closes the bank account of the crypto exchanges that had an account of them.

Nothing new. As usual, they always hide behind similar formulations.
For some reason, until August 5, this didn't prevent portuguese banks from making money on this.

~snip
Second, the decision is basically grounded on fear, potential, or possibility. But does fiat money not have the same potential? Is fiat money not being laundered every minute of the day? Have they not checked the figures which says up to trillions in USD are actually laundered every year? That's larger than the entire Bitcoin or even crypto market cap. So why are they not imposing the same decision on fiat if it's this fear that they're taking into consideration?

Because there is little truth in what is said in public. Portuguese Banks wanted to tell us a "fairy tale", hiding the true reasons for their decision, they did it. It doesn't really matter what "sauce" they serve it with.

[Detritus]

At initial, the new policy is going to affect those Bitcoiners and indigens who relay their investment in cryptocurrency but as time goes on, they will figure out how to go about their crypto endeavors.
  It was a bit difficult for me when the CBN (Central bank of Nigeria) also Ban every transaction that concerns cryptocurrency in Nigeria Bank (https://www.cbn.gov.ng › CCDPDF
Cryptocurrency Trading: CBN Orders Banks To Close Operating). I think the crypto traders in Portuguese will figure a solution out. I don't know but I think P2P can be a solution for them at this moment.

[romero121]

At initial, the new policy is going to affect those Bitcoiners and indigens who relay their investment in cryptocurrency but as time goes on, they will figure out how to go about their crypto endeavors.
  It was a bit difficult for me when the CBN (Central bank of Nigeria) also Ban every transaction that concerns cryptocurrency in Nigeria Bank (https://www.cbn.gov.ng › CCDPDF
Cryptocurrency Trading: CBN Orders Banks To Close Operating). I think the crypto traders in Portuguese will figure a solution out. I don't know but I think P2P can be a solution for them at this moment.

At the beginning users will experience some difficulty. Within a short the users will find a way to make use of the cryptocurrencies. The sad part people from near countries used to reach Portuguese for the purpose of trading their cryptocurrency as it is found crypto friendly. Now these people might experience a situation to move to the near countries for the same purpose.