According to local media reports, Australian bitcoin holders said a number of well-known local banks seem intent on freezing their bank accounts and forbidding them to use legal tender to buy cryptocurrencies. At least one bitcoin exchange has been dissatisfied with the behavior of banks, and many Bitcoin holders are uncomfortable with Australian banks. It is reported that a large number of Australian bitcoin holders posted information on social media, claiming that the local “big four banks” have banned them from using bank account funds to trade on bitcoin exchanges, and some even claim that their accounts have been frozen.
The four banks are Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ, ANZ, Westpac.
Coinspot is currently Australia’s most popular cryptocurrency exchange, the exchange has announced it will temporarily hold the Australian legal tender to deal with the friction between banks. The exchange said in a statement: “We assure all users that we are equally dissatisfied with the situation you are experiencing, but unfortunately, it appears that Australian banks are currently reluctant to cooperate with the digital money industry and lead to frequent account closure and account restrictions appear.”
So @NAB @CommBank @WestpacNZ and @ANZ_AU are all freezing customer accounts and transfers to @BTCMarkets @coinspotau @GetCoinJar @coinbase . #Banks can fight it, but people want control of their money #ausbiz #auspol
— Alex Saunders 🇦🇺👨🔬 (@AlexSaundersAU) December 28, 2017
The National Australia Bank said they are “law-abiding,” as the bank’s terms of service contain rules that refuse to deal with international funds transfers or international cash management transactions, a rule that applies to bitcoin. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, National Australia Bank opined that the transfer of funds and the freezing of accounts by its clients had been fraudulent or attempted to cheat before the transfer of funds to their target accounts.
A Bitcoin owner named Micheal Juric revealed to the Sydney Morning Herald that at present 30 local banks in Australia have closed or frozen banks linked to bitcoin exchanges Account and a photo showing the ANZ letter of credit – showing that her account will be temporarily closed in accordance with the terms and conditions and will not be reused until January 30, 2018.
At present, spokesman for Australia’s “Big Four Banks” all said that their actions are based on anti-money laundering laws and regulatory requirements and are not specifically targeted at bitcoin or other encrypted digital currencies. A Commonwealth Bank spokesman said: “Although we do not support Bitcoin because it is not subject to regulatory restrictions, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia does not prevent individual customers from purchasing virtual currency rights.”
Reference: businessinsider
