‘Very costly side effects’: Blockchain Australia hits back at banks limiting crypto payments
Blockchain Australia released a statement Wednesday criticizing Australian banks for limiting how their customers can interact with crypto currencies, saying that “blanket restrictions have very costly side effects .” The statement from Australia’s blockchain industry body came after the country’s largest bank by assets, Commonwealth Bank (CBA), clamped down on crypto last week to protect customers from scams. CBA announced it would hold or reject certain crypto payments and that it will implement a monthly limit of $10,000 Australian dollars ($6,816) for customers wanting to buy crypto through exchanges. Westpac also initiated blocks against certain crypto transactions in May, forbidding its customers from sending Australian dollars to “high risk” exchanges such as Binance. Jackson Zeng, the director of Blockchain Australia and CEO of bitcoin brokerage firm Caleb and Brown, gave a harsh rebuke to these financial institutions for their actions. Zeng said this situation ...