Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, what's a financial bubble? Explanations in 5 minutes chrono!

[GuyGadeboisTheBack]

Well, we had Paul the octopus with his 12 out of 14 exact predictions!

[Christophe]

Ah yes that changes the predictions of Manu the gastropod!

[Christophe]

No kidding ... here is the Zemmour Coin: Zcoin!

[Christophe]

Ah ah ah who was right in 2017?

[Christophe]

There you go... the banks are panicking and blocking financial repatriations from cryptos... this is proof of a lobbyist mafia operation or even racketeering, no more no less...



Banks close the door to bitcoin winners

Some investors have made fortunes in bitcoin. But the day they want to repatriate their earnings to their bank account, things get complicated.

Christophe (first name) fell into the world of bitcoin a few years ago. This engineer specializing in financial mathematics is fascinated by the technological revolution offered by cryptocurrencies. Thanks to a nice savings made up by reselling the shares of a company he created, he began his investments.

Rather computer-savvy, Christophe hacks a robot trader that gives automatic buy and sell orders on major cryptocurrency exchange platforms. As bitcoin and other cryptos do not have exactly the same price on the different platforms, Christophe thinks that there is money to be made. The trick is to buy bitcoins where it is cheapest to resell them on the platform that offers the best conversion rate in euros or dollars.

Blacklisted

Christophe's bot does what is called arbitration. And at this little game, he turns out to be rather gifted. Soon, the amounts exchanged amounted to millions of euros. Every day, his bank (one of the four major Belgian banks) sees millions of euros transit, which come from one crypto platform to leave at the end of the day to another. This little merry-go-round does not last long. "I was summoned by my bank. She asked me to stop, otherwise she would close my account," explains Christophe.

The engineer complies and uses a foreign bank to host his crypto arbitrage activities. Some time later, he plans a real estate investment in Belgium and turns to another major Belgian bank. Surprise: two weeks after his arrival, the bank in question closes its accounts. Without explanation. Christophe is blacklisted.

Today, only one Belgian bank still accepts him as a client. But he cannot use his account to repatriate his cryptocurrency earnings. "I do not traffic drugs. I do nothing wrong. I can prove the origin of the funds", pleads Christophe. "I'm frustrated, he continues. The banks push us to live in hiding."

Cryptotraders are not welcome
This misadventure, other cryptomillionaires, but also smaller crypto-investors, have experienced it. We asked the big banks how they deal with this kind of files. At Belfius, we don't cut corners: "Cryptocurrencies are known means of fraud and money laundering. Belfius applies a very strict policy in this area, and is extremely cautious with regard to transactions related to cryptocurrency trading."

For ING, the matter is quickly settled: "We do not accept retail clients or professional clients who earn their living by trading cryptocurrencies (the "cryptotraders")." For its part, BNP Paribas Fortis "strongly advises against the purchase of cryptocurrencies and invites its customers not to make purchases of cryptocurrencies through accounts held by the bank. (…) The bank reserves the right not to accept an order from the client that it suspects to be illegal."

Only KBC is a little more open: "Transactions [coming from crypto platforms] are subject to controls. Our main condition is that the client can demonstrate that the funds were initially invested from a Belgian bank account."

Sausage not recommended
Under anti-money laundering regulations, banks are required to carry out checks on their customers' transactions. They identify suspicious transactions via algorithms that flag movements considered suspicious due to various factors: origin of funds, frequency of transactions, amounts... Some repatriations of crypto gains therefore pass under the radar of banks. But it is impossible to say precisely which ones. The banks remain discreet on the subject. They do not communicate the amounts from which the transactions can be the subject of a report, "for reasons of confidentiality", we are told at KBC.

According to our information, transactions involving a few thousand euros have every chance of passing... as long as they are not repeated too often. No point in hoping to slice up a big win into multiple small transfers: the bank's algorithm would spot them quickly. If the amount of winnings is substantial, and they come from a foreign-based crypto platform, there is a high risk that the transaction will be flagged and blocked.

There remains the possibility for the client to demonstrate that the funds invested come from a lawful activity. It is up to him to set up a file to document his operations. This is precisely the specialty of Marem Aoucheva, co-founder of Complychain. This Brussels lawyer specializing in compliance was consulted by a cryptoinvestor who was looking to repatriate three million euros in earnings. “The funds are legal, they have been transferred to regulated platforms abroad, assures Marem Aoucheva. But the banks do not understand much about the crypto market. analyze the file, of the order of six months." To put the odds on his client's side, Marem Aoucheva has put together a file containing the details of all transactions since their origin. After long discussions with different institutions, a bank finally accepted the transaction.

Document movements of funds

So there are some signs of openness. But, in the absence of a really established procedure, the repatriation of gains in cryptocurrency remains infrequent. Lawyer at Ethikos Lawyers, Miguel Mairlot sees these difficulties in his practice. He currently advises around ten crypto investors looking to repatriate their earnings to Belgium. For some, the amounts go up to ten million euros. "Banks have a real aversion to cryptocurrencies, explains Miguel Mairlot. As soon as an individual is linked to this type of investment, they tend to end the relationship."

Cryptoinvestors have thus found themselves excluded from their bank, without any explanation. To pick up the pieces, it is a question of demonstrating that the suspicions of money laundering are unfounded. "You have to trace the entire chain of transactions, show that the funds come from identifiable income and demonstrate that the investments are made within the framework of the management of private assets", underlines Miguel Mairlot.

Towards a regulation of crypto-assets

Then comes the delicate question of cryptocurrency exchange platforms. These intermediaries, usually located abroad, are currently off the radar of regulatory authorities. Some are flagged by the FSMA as potentially fraudulent. No need to hope to repatriate gains made on these dubious platforms.

Other, more serious platforms integrate customer identification procedures (KYC) and obtain approvals from the authorities of the countries where they are established. "They also call on specialized companies which certify that the cryptocurrencies are not 'tinted', that is to say that they are not the result of illegal operations", continues the lawyer.

The repatriation of crypto funds is therefore still akin to an obstacle course. But things could change. A European regulation (MiCA), which aims to regulate the crypto-asset market and better protect consumers, is under discussion. "In the near future, we will expect crypto platforms to respect the same rules as banks, says Miguel Mairlot (Ethikos Lawyers). This will create a more reassuring environment, which should facilitate exchanges between virtual currencies and traditional currencies. ."





https://www.lecho.be/les-marches/analys ... 66397.html

[Christophe]

ps: I promise I'm not the Christophe