Large banks would like to destroy cryptocurrencies before cryptocurrencies destroy them. Decentralized cryptocurrencies are a type of public money which has the potential to turn into a new cryptocurrency without the states and big banks’ control.
Hence, the states and the banks, each by its own way, want to limit this potential. The governments try to weaken the status of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin through intensifying regulations of initial coin offering and shutting down the cryptocurrency exchanges, the same as what took place recently in China.
The banks, too, don’t let the customers to buy Bitcoin or prevent different cryptocurrency companies to open an account. All these is a solution these banks have considered to limit Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
“Early this week I tried to have a small purchase from a well-known exchange. It was immediately blocked, and I was urged to call the bank. They detained me for 11 minutes, and when my card got liberated, it was late for purchase”.
It is one of the thousands of stories Bitcoin holders, and other cryptocurrencies users have. The cryptocurrency companies’ problem to open the bank account is worse than that.
Lamassu is the oldest manufacturers of Bitcoin ATMs in the world. After a year of exclusion from having a bank account, this company moved to Switzerland, and it was agreed upon opening a bank account for this company there. All these stories is only a part of the whole event, and a large part of it is left unsaid and hidden.
Why Don’t Banks Collaborate with Cryptocurrency Companies?
Lack of cooperation of the banks with cryptocurrency companies ends in loss of anti-money laundering regulations and its nonchalant investigations; however, with $243 billion suspicious and illegal money earned just in the past decade, it seems that these banks cause illicit financial cycles, not the cryptocurrency companies.
Not only big banks have got into trouble lately because of inefficient anti-money laundering methods, but it was specified that they play a role in these money launderings.
According to Bloomberg calculations, Deutsche bank has paid about $18 billion for money laundering fine. Moreover, the police of Germany and Frankfurt police station representatives investigated many branches of this bank with the charge of money laundering amounting to $200 billion in November 2018.
However, these banks don’t let Bitcoin ATMs and other cryptocurrency companies open an account yet, isn’t is hypocrisy?
Banks’ Hypocrisy
As most of the banks have confessed, they don’t allow their customers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Their reason is the loss of anti-money laundering investigations and regulations.
Famous Warren Buffett, called Bitcoin a fraud and claimed that just the scammers get attracted to it. As a large investment in Wells Fargo, it might be better for him to take a look at itself at first since this company has been fined $14 billion with the charge of money laundering.
In one of 2018 articles, Forbes has published a list of the names of the other banks which don’t allow their customers to buy Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Bank of America, J.P. Morgan and CitiGroup are in this list.
They had allowed to buy and sell cryptocurrencies in the beginning, but after a while they rescinded it. All the banks in this list have been fined for money laundering, but the Bank of America has received the most amount of fine which was $58 billion.
If the Fine of Big Banks Has Reached $243 Billion in Ten Years, Why Do They Still Continue Money Laundering?
The reason might be that the profit of money laundering is much more than the fines they pay. The fines of money laundering are just a part of billions of dollars of money taken from criminal activities; however, it is not the same about small cryptocurrency companies.
As Dan Hedl had stated, the total value of cryptocurrencies market is $134 billion which is totally destroyed just by a money-laundering fine.
On the other hand, the price of money laundering fine of the banks has been $243 billion since 2008. Most of the banks have simply understood that this profit isn’t worth risk taking.
Dan Hedl published statistics of fine prices of the banks due to money laundering in a tweet which is as follows: from 2000 to the present time, Bank of America $58 billion, J.P. Morgan $29 billion, CitiGroup 17 billion, Wells Fargo 14 billion, Deutsche bank 12 billion and Goldman Sachs 9 billion.
It is a theory.
The other theory is that these banks attempt to suppress innovations such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Banks know these cryptocurrencies a new threat for themselves. It would be better not to forget what were the purposes to crease Bitcoin in the first stage!
Now that the big banks make an all-out effort to stop cryptocurrencies, by these numbers and figures the society soon open its eyes and recognizes the real scammer!
Reference: Cintjournal