Chilean Anti-Monopoly Court Orders Banks To Re-Open Crypto Exchange’s Accounts

Major Chilean cryptocurrency exchange Buda has persuaded a court to order the re-opening of its accounts at two major Chilean banks, Bloomberg reports April 25.

Chile’s anti-monopoly court published the ruling on its website, ordering state bank Banco del Estado de Chile and Itau Corpbanca to re-open Buda’s accounts while the exchange’s lawsuit continues against 10 banks, including the aforementioned two. Buda sued the banks after what it said was an “unjustified” closing of its accounts.

Earlier this month, a group of exchanges in Chile filed legal action against the banks’ decision to shut down their accounts. Buda, Orionx, and CrytpoMarket say that the banking system has taken unilateral action in Chile that’s “killing the entire industry.”

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Buda CEO Guillermo Torrealba said that while Chile would like to show itself as open and liberal to new technologies, the veneer is thin:

“Chile is showing its "B" side, that of being an extremely conservative country, even though we make huge efforts for the world to see us as liberals.”

According to Torrealba, despite an outcry in the media and on Twitter, banks refuse to respond. He says that the powerful banking sector is making the environment for cryptocurrency worse than Ecuador, Bolivia, or China.

Torrealba emphasized that there are no laws, rulings, or legislation that prevent crypto firms from operating normally, rather the banking sector has taken on the role of a hegemonic regulator:

“There hasn't been one regulator, legislator or government official saying that cryptocurrencies aren’t legal, it was just the decision of a very powerful sector of the economy: the banking industry.”