Bitcoin Businesses Denied Banking Services in Ireland

[felixesteban]

Leading companies from the crypto sector in Ireland have complained they are being denied services by some of the country’s major financial institutions. Among the affected businesses are bitcoin exchange Bitcove, winner of the bank-sponsored “Best Business Startup” award, and Ireland’s “longest running” bitcoin broker, Eircoin. 

Banks Close Accounts of Award-Winning Startup

Several Irish businesses have been forced to either stop trading cryptocurrencies or seek partners abroad after local financial institutions refused to offer them banking services. Some of them have lost their bank accounts, while others have never been allowed to open one in the country, the local press reported.

Bitcoin Businesses Denied Banking Services in Ireland

Bitcoin exchange Bitcove, which has been operating since 2014 and had previously worked with Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Permanent TSB and Bank of Ireland, is one of the affected companies, The Irish Times reported. One of its co-founders, Peter Nagle, told the newspaper the banks closed its accounts stating they do not support companies offering cryptocurrency exchange facilities. The trading platform has since been using the services of “a more progressive banking partner” in Europe.

“Particularly disappointing was Bank of Ireland. We were participants on the Ignite startup program, which is backed by the bank. Our business and its progress were reviewed monthly by a panel which included Bank of Ireland representatives. At the end of the incubator Bitcove won the award, but then just a few months later our accounts were frozen and eventually closed,” Nagle explained.

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https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-businesses-denied-banking-services-in-ireland/