Conflict flares up between crypto exchanges and commercial banks in Chile

Cryptocurrency exchanges in Chile have filed a complaint with regulators accusing private banks of colluding and biasing crypto industry participants.. A joint statement by leading Chilean trading platforms Buda.com, CryptoMKT and OrionX, filed with the Tribunal for the Defense of the Freedom of Competence (TDLC), speaks of an intensifying conflict between bankers and cryptocurrency exchanges. The main reason for the conflict is the biased attitude of representatives of the banking industry towards all participants in the digital industry. For example, market participants are indignant, the vast majority of Chilean banks close or refuse to open settlement accounts for crypto companies, motivating actions by a high degree of potential risk of transactions. The statement said that other entities in the country's financial market, such as companies dealing in jewelry, watches, cars, works of art or antiques (that is, assets that are “generally recognized as possible tools for laundering criminal proceeds”), are not subject to restrictions.. Therefore, members of the crypto community suspect bankers of collusion. “Banks are pursuing a unified policy, as evidenced by the fact that over the past three months, the decision to close or refuse to open accounts was received by 79% of the participants in the country’s cryptocurrency market,” the appeal to TDLC says. According to Chilean media reports, the only financial institution where crypto-currency companies can open current accounts without restrictions is Banco de Crédito e Inversiones (BCI), which has launched a special “secure and trusted environment” protocol.