...

[turtlehurricane]

....

[seriouscoin]

Guess where we are now 

[efiin]

That's disgusting that they did that why do they fear evolution? Bitcoin is the future.

[evanito]

This is scary but bitcoin will persevere. As long as we don't dump bitcoin and come crawling to the banks there will be nothing they can do.

[gadman2]

I talked with my credit union before hand and they said everything would be fine. Hope they don't lie.

[haploid23]

The moral of this story: DO NOT open business bank accounts if you have a Bitcoin business.

Were you oblivious to this fact? This has been known for well over a year now.

Very few banks are bitcoin friendly. A few credit unions might be, but if you openly admit that it's a bitcoin business, you'll get instant shutdown for most banks. Can you disclose a bit more info as to how you alerted them it was for bitcoin? Also, banks might close accounts if they suspect ANYTHING suspicious that they can't confirm. For example, receiving too much cash deposits, and withdrawing cash in close intervals right after you deposit. If they can't figure out what the transactions are for, they'll just simply close it.

[Soros Shorts]

Was your business structured as an LLC or more like a sole proprietorship type business? I just want to understatand why they are going after your personal credit card as well.

[snappa4ever]

Did you use your account to help you facilitate bitcoin trades? If so did you tell them that you are a MSB as they need you to tell them this if you are one (you are if you are a trader that trades with individuals).

I think you left out the part about what exactly your business does.

If your banker could not explain why the account was closed, why did you not ask to speak to someone who was able to do so?  

[darkota]

Guess where we are now 

Excellent graphic, that about sums it up.

Perfect image. It's true, banks are afraid that Bitcoin and it's decentralized nature will compete with them.

[bigasic]

I've heard this happening way too much. I have an account at wells fargo and used to transfer my bitcoins from mining to my personal account. So far, I haven't had an issue, but I have only transfered a little bit since last December, before banks really knew what bitcoin was. The best thing to do is never mention bitcoin, I wonder if coinbase is on their radar.

We all want banks to eventually go away, but right now  we have to have them, no other way to turn our coin into fiat when needed. Well, there is, but its a pain. Buy gold, have it shipped, then sell gold at pawn shop. That may be the future of selling coin, but for now, Im hodling but it would nice to know that my account is safe..

[Walsoraj]

The moral of this story: DO NOT open business bank accounts if you have a Bitcoin business.

Were you oblivious to this fact? This has been known for well over a year now.

Very few banks are bitcoin friendly. A few credit unions might be, but if you openly admit that it's a bitcoin business, you'll get instant shutdown. Can you disclose a bit more info as to how you alerted them it was for bitcoin? Also, banks might close accounts if they suspect ANYTHING suspicious that they can't confirm. For example, receiving too much cash deposits, and withdrawing cash in close intervals right after you deposit. If they can't figure out what the transactions are for, they'll just simply close it.

When I opened the account I used my business name (USA Crypto Coins LLC), and explained I was a Bitcoin trader. The bankers said that sounded interesting, and weren't opposed to it at all. There is a major disconnect between the policies of local branches and the policy of the bank itself.

Like I said, I only deposited my own cash, a few times at that, and then used the funds to buy Bitcoin with venmo, paypal, and through coin.mx.

I heard of accounts getting shutdown for other traders, but I thought it was mostly due to high volumes of cash deposits from customers. Apparently they shutdown accounts just for being involved with Bitcoin.

I also didn't think they would terminate my relationship for lifetime just because they closed the business account. If I knew that I would have never opened a business account.

A review of your posting history reveals you aren't just trading through exchanges but also sell directly. I'm guessing you made no efforts to be in compliance with AML/KYC laws. No wonder you were banned.

[Soros Shorts]

A review of your posting history reveals you aren't just trading through exchanges but also sell directly. No wonder you were banned.

Yes, my business is entirely based on buying Bitcoin near market rate and then selling to individuals. I learned the hard way that banks don't allow this sort of business. That being said, I only used the bank account to purchase Bitcoins, not as a medium to receive money from customers.

So it appears like wire transfers to exchanges might possibly be the culprit.

[seriouscoin]

I've heard this happening way too much. I have an account at wells fargo and used to transfer my bitcoins from mining to my personal account. So far, I haven't had an issue, but I have only transfered a little bit since last December, before banks really knew what bitcoin was. The best thing to do is never mention bitcoin, I wonder if coinbase is on their radar.

We all want banks to eventually go away, but right now  we have to have them, no other way to turn our coin into fiat when needed. Well, there is, but its a pain. Buy gold, have it shipped, then sell gold at pawn shop. That may be the future of selling coin, but for now, Im hodling but it would nice to know that my account is safe..

Bitpay, Coinbase or Overstock can apply for their own banking license if the banks are stupid enough to close their accts. We're talking millions of dollars monthly here.

[seriouscoin]

A review of your posting history reveals you aren't just trading through exchanges but also sell directly. No wonder you were banned.

Yes, my business is entirely based on buying Bitcoin near market rate and then selling to individuals. I learned the hard way that banks don't allow this sort of business. That being said, I only used the bank account to purchase Bitcoins, not as a medium to receive money from customers.

Gee talk about ignorance, why did you think its ok to do what you do? Did you have MSB license?

[countryfree]

I see that your business name is "USA Crypto Coins LLC" so it's more than BTC, and means more misunderstanding to your bank. I'm sorry it 's happening to you, but it's useful to the others. People working with BTC shall stay away from Wells Fargo.

[yayayo]

Sad to read this, because it will make things a lot harder for the people affected in the short-midterm. On the other hand - nice to read this, because banks are starting to take themselves out of business with such behavior. Banks generating pissed off ex-customers will only help bitcoin adoption.

Bitcoin is the future. Bank can either adapt or die. It seems that most choose the latter option.

ya.ya.yo!

[haploid23]

You don't need an MSB license to trade Bitcoin, period. It's considered property, not currency.

Is this a joke? You obviously have not been keeping up with recent legalities when it comes to buying/selling bitcoins. Our US government is confused as hell when categorizing bitcoin. One branch (IRS) claims it as property, hence will get taxed as such, but another branch (FINCEN) deems it as a currency.

What do you think happened to Mike Caldwell and his Casascius coins? Do you think he just stopped making them because he got bored of making money? This is exactly why TitanBTC now has license and is regulated by FINCEN before selling their coins.

[CoinsForTech]

This is happening a lot in Australia as well. We've been approached by our bank but thankfully they've decided we are not a risk. Two out of our four big banks are anti-bitcoin! I think they can see their business model being threatened.

[franky1]

to turtle hurricane.

have you in the last few months ever done any:
1)localbitcoin trades
2)localbitcoin trades where the other party then attempted a wire transfer reversal on you (chargeback scammer tried to abuse you)
3)exchange transfers but never done localbitcoins
4)exchange transfers but never done and localbitcoins
5)other bitcoin related service(please list)

if exchanges were used, could you mention which main exchange you used especially the one used mostly near to the time of the 'decision'

i ask this as i am trying to build up a list of patterns from people finding banks not being friendly. to figure out what is triggering the decisions to close accounts

feel free to PM me details if you dont want the services used made public

[moriartybitcoin]

This happens all the time unfortunately. Banks are scared silly of Bitcoin.  Cryptocurrency is a direct and tangible threat to the fractional reserve banking ponzi scheme...