“The End of Crypto Exchange in Chile?”
Updated: Feb 18, 2022
Chile is a country in constant development; the government has different initiatives to support and promote instances for entrepreneurs and new technology. President Sebastián Piñera met last week with blockchain expert Don Tapscott, author of the book “Blockchain Revolution”. I wonder if the bank and crypto exchange situation in Chile ever came up?
According to DF.cl, the conversation between Sebastián Piñera and Tapscott addressed the requirements for the orderly development of this technology in Chile.
With that being said, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revealed that the data received between the years 2012 and 2016 portrays that Chile is the country with the highest percentage of entrepreneurs, as published in the website of BioBio Chile. Up until this point, Chile seemed to be a place to do all sorts of business, yet for cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, it has been a rocky road.
In 2017, the Chilean Production Development Corporation (CORFO), a business incubator under Chile's Ministry of Economy, Development, and Tourism, financed both Surbtc (now named Buda) and Cryptomkt, cryptocurrency exchanges, with more than US$ 100,000 – according to the website Qué Pasa.
Last Friday, Buda, the crypto exchange company, released a blog post with their thoughts on the current closing of different Chilean bank accounts they had. They assure the Chilean constitution states the right to develop any economic activity that is not contrary to morality, public order, or national security, in the framework of the legal regulations that regulate it. Having this information gave the entrepreneurs the idea that Chile would be an ideal place for this line of business; little did they know that the banks would use their power and decide to close their accounts.
In this very detailed blog post from Buda, they let everyone know they have been always playing by the rules, going above and beyond to play fair.
This past Wednesday, Buda updated their clients through email letting everyone know that the court has just accepted their request concerning their lawsuit against the banks Itau and Banco Estado. During the lawsuit process, the banks have been ordered to re-open the accounts.
What seemed to be a very dark road for the exchanges just revealed a glimmer of hope to this cryptocurrency company. Meanwhile, Buda will return to their normal services.
The battle is not over yet. Although there is a light at the end of the tunnel, the battle is not entirely won with the banks. I guess we just have to wait and see what their next move is.
Hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to comment.