Senator Bragg Says Ban Is “Bad” For Crypto Traders

Senator Andrew Bragg said Australian banks viewed anti-competitive practices as regulatory compliance when customers withdraw cryptocurrencies.

“I believe that many banks see the wind-down as a legal necessity. In fact, it is often anti-competitive and scary and far more threatening than it appears, ”said the Liberal Senator from New South Wales in a prepared speech to Australia’s Technology Council.

Bank refusal, also known as bank refusal, occurs when a financial institution decides to stop offering its customers banking services. It is not necessary to give reasons and banks have the option of freezing accounts immediately or closing them at short notice. With crypto customers, banks often raise concerns about anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorist financing (CTF) compliance.

Senator Bragg told Cointelegraph that his Senate committee had heard evidence that banks terminated accounts for “commercial reasons” – a practice “long known and marked by the ACCC. [Australian Competition & Consumer Commission]”.

“In other words, they degrade customers in order to protect their solid market position. This is not good enough. ”

As evidence of the Senate investigation into “Australia as a technology and financial center” in September of this year, the founder of “Bitcoin Babe”, Michaela Juric, said that in her seven-year history of the cryptocurrency she has been banned by a total of 91 banks and financial institutions.

“No reason was given, there were no case-by-case reviews or discussions, and there was no legal recourse,” she said at the time.

Another Australian crypto trader, Allan Flynn, won a deal with ANZ for having it withdrawn on October 15th. While ANZ declines any liability, the bank gave him the opportunity to re-register my bank account. Flynn also has a similar case against Westpac.

In his speech to the Technology Council today, Senator Bragg condemned the practice of debanking, saying it is “undermining Australia as a crypto hub”.

“How can you be central if you as a trader, miner, stock exchange, custodian or investor cannot have a bank account? You can not. ”

However, things are changing. On November 3rd, Commonwealth Bank announced that it would be the first Australian bank to offer customers the ability to buy, sell and hold crypto assets through their CommBank app. Bragg said it will be difficult for banks to reconcile their anti-crypto stance once they start getting into the crypto world on their own.

“The position of banks in history will be difficult to maintain with the recent entry of banks into the crypto world. I will make sure that banks do not have an opportunity to be hypocrites, ”he said in his speech today.

He added to the statement, telling Cointelegraph, “I think it is hypocritical to allow and encourage customers to use crypto in the app and then withdraw funds for other customers. I’m happy to see banks start using cryptocurrencies. “

The Senate Committee’s “Crypto Report”, published October 20, contained 12 recommendations addressing key issues related to the cryptocurrency sector, including the Australian Government’s development of a “clear process for companies whose banking has been phased out”.

Related: Senator Says Australian Crypto Firms Want To Follow Regulations

Following the publication of the report, the Australian Transaction Analysis and Reporting Center (AUSTRAC) issued a statement on October 29th harshly criticizing non-banking practices:

“Banning legitimate and legitimate financial services companies could increase the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing and have a negative impact on the Australian economy,” the report said.

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