Chilean exchanges Buda, Orionx and CryptoMarket have complained to an appeals court after three banks closed their accounts last month with no explanation, Bloomberg reports.
“They’re killing an entire industry,” said Guillermo Torrealba, Buda’s co-founder and chief executive officer.
“It won’t be possible to buy and sell crypto in a safe business in Chile. We’ll have to go back five years and trade in person. It seems very arbitrary.”
According to Torrealba, Buda is self regulated and complies with the same measures the financial industry goes through to know its customers, such as running checks with local and international authorities. The company also only accepts bank transfers, not cash.
While it isn’t clear if the shutdowns are at the government’s behest, local press reports have speculated that the orders to shut accounts may have come from the authorities.
The appeals court has agreed to hear the case and the exchanges hope to win the case.
“Hopefully the appeals court will see we’re right,” Torrealba said.
While Chile’s cryptocurrency market is not that big, two digital coins Chaucha and Luka have been created in the country. Two of the local trading platforms - Buda and CryptoMarket - operate across Latin America.
In a statement published April 5 the country’s Financial Stability Council, which has representatives from the Finance Ministry, central bank and the securities, banks and pension funds regulators, warned of risks related to investing in cryptocurrencies.
By Jade Olafson