Brazil: Cryptocurrency Association sues banks over banking obstructions

The Brazilian Society of Cryptotomes and Block Chain (ABCB) has requested Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) to take measures banning national banks from refusing to open accounts for institutions linked to these popular virtual currencies .

The request responds to a case in which Banco do Brasil closed the current account of Atlas, a growing company that manages bitcoin arbitrage, exploring price differences between different exchange houses that operate with the famous cryptocurrency.

According to Fernando Furlan, president of ABCB, Banco do Brasil’s decision constitutes an abuse, since platforms for financial innovation such as FinTech, as well as cryptocurrency exchanges, require access to traditional banking in order to survive.

Although ABCB has focused on the anti-competitive actions of Banco do Brasil, it would also seek to prevent any other institution from closing or refusing to open accounts in the name of any company that meets the legal requirements to do so. For example, the document cites cases in other countries, in which banks have been sanctioned for restricting access to savings or current accounts, as happened in Chile last April.

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