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- The first exchange that opened a bank account with the institution was Buda
- Their objective is to accompany their clients so that they can operate in this market
- Santander planning to offer cryptocurrency services to its customers in Brasil
A cryptocurrency exchange has been able to open a bank account in Bci, a financial institution that established a protocol to serve these businesses, after years of litigation in Chile. Buda, a local exchange that met the bank’s requirements in the aforementioned protocol, was the first exchange to open an account with the institution.
Bci, a Chilean bank, made the announcement on October 28 that it had developed a protocol that would enable cryptocurrency exchanges to open checking accounts with the organization. This is a significant achievement for the nation’s cryptocurrency exchanges, which had fought for years for the right to use conventional banking services.
First Account Opened
The Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF)’s recommendations served as inspiration for the development of the protocol, which includes audit reports from an outside company, compliance processes that must be followed, transaction traceability, prevention of money laundering, and financing of terrorism.
According to the local newspaper Diario Financiero, a spokesperson for the bank said that customers of the exchanges would benefit from this move. The bank declared that its goal is to accompany its customers so that it can operate in this market in a safe and reliable environment.
In 2018, two local cryptocurrency exchanges, Buda and Crypto MKT began a legal battle to regain access to banking services after their accounts were closed. This was the beginning of the conflict between cryptocurrency exchanges and banks in Chile.
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Santander already has a cryptocurrency asset division
The exchanges claim that banks are abusing their position of power to prevent them from competing with alternative financial systems like cryptocurrency. The legal battle continues today.
Buda was the first cryptocurrency exchange to open a checking account in Bci after signing an
agreement with the bank. It is one of the exchanges still involved in the aforementioned legal battle with other banks.
Other exchanges are also permitted to seek banking services from the institution under this agreement, subject to meeting the established procedure’s requirements.
Santander, which already has a cryptocurrency asset division and plans to offer cryptocurrency services to its customers in Brazil, is one of the banks in Latam that has been more open to offering services related to cryptocurrencies.
With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.
