Chilean[1] cryptocurrency exchanges BUDA[2], Orionx[3], and CryptoMarket[4] (CryptoMKT) have recently applied to an appeals court to confront the banks[5] that shut down their platforms’ accounts, Bloomberg[6] reported Friday, April 13. The court has agreed to hear the case, but the bank accounts are still closed.
According to local news outlet Emol[7], the banks Itau Corpbanca and Scotiabank announced the closure of the bank accounts of BUDA and CryptoMKT on March 19. A week later, the state-owned Banco del Estado de Chile followed the move by confirming the closure of the accounts of all three crypto exchanges.
The Chilean cryptocurrency[8] community launched the tag on Twitter #ChileQuiereCryptos (Chile Wants Crypto) to support the industry and retain the ability for citizens to buy and trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin[9] (BTC), as well as locally launched coins Chaucha and Luka. Twitter user Hernán Maureira[10] condemned the banks’ actions towards the crypto industry, claiming that “while the world is running hand in hand with this technology, Chile takes a step back.”
BUDA’s co-founder and CEO Guillermo Torrealba comments that the banks’ decision to close accounts is “killing the entire industry.” According to Bloomberg, BUDA exchange traded around $1 mln daily before its bank account was closed. Torrealba continued:
“It won’t be possible to buy and sell crypto in a safe business in Chile. We’ll have to go back five years and trade in person. It seems very arbitrary.”
On March 27, BUDA and CryptoMKT published a public statement[11] asking the Chilean Association of Banks (ABIF) to clarify its stance on cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency trading. However, the institution claimed that it is
