Portugal Began To Block The Bank Accounts Of Cryptocurrency Exchanges

The largest Portuguese banks began to close the accounts of crypto exchanges. Bloomberg writes about this regarding local representatives of the cryptocurrency market.

It is reported that the most significant public bank in Portugal, Banco Comercial Portugues and Banco Santander closed the accounts of the CriptoLoja crypto exchange. Before this, two smaller financial institutions closed crypto exchange accounts without explanation. In addition to CriptoLoja, other trading platforms also came under attack – Mind the Coin and Luso Digital Asset.

A spokesman for Banco Comercial said in a media comment that the decision to close accounts of crypto exchanges is due to the obligation to respond to “suspicious transactions.” What exactly prompted banks to break off relations with cryptocurrency companies is unknown.

CriptoLoja co-founder Pedro Borges claims that the exchange has always informed local authorities about suspicious transactions.

“All compliance and reporting procedures have been followed,” he added.

It remains unclear whether other crypto-currency companies have come under repression or whether banks are targeting trading platforms exclusively.

The regulation of the crypto market is also being strengthened in Spain, neighboring Portugal. Recall that Spain became the first European country where the financial regulator received permission to control the advertising market. Starting in March, celebrities and their business partners will be required to notify the authorities of their intention to publish advertisements for crypto services. In addition, all celebrities will also have to report to regulators when they receive payments in cryptocurrencies for the provision of services.

At the same time, bank accounts of accounts related to the circulation of cryptocurrencies are also blocked in Nigeria and Russia. Recall that in February 2020, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation updated the criteria for blocking accounts. Bank transactions involving the purchase and sale of virtual assets are grounds for blocking; however, it is not clear what the threshold for freezing a bank account is.