Blockchain News
Did Bitfinex Exchange Really Partner With 6 Different Banks During 2018
Bitfinex, one of the largest digital currency exchanges in the market seems to be expanding signing partnerships with different traditional financial institutions according to a recent article on News.Bitcoin.com. They covered a 22 month stretch where Bitfinex had partnered with 6 different banks. Here is a brief rundown:
Bitfinex was working with the Polish bank Spółdzielczy w Skierniewicach. The exchange opened an account under the Panama-based company Crypto SP.
Between February and November 2018, Bitfinex’s users had to make fiat deposits in six different financial institutions. This shows that the exchange has been partnering with different banks throughout 2018.
At the beginning of 2018, a Reddit post mentioned that a Bitfinex customer had to make a deposit in the Portuguese bank Caixa Geral De Depositos. The name of the company was Global Trade Solutions. According to one Redditor, this company would be related to Crypto S.P and Crypto Capital.
Furthermore, the Dutch Bank, ING confirmed in February that Bitfinex had an account in the company. After it, in May, Noble Bank offered services to the cryptocurrency exchagne. At the same time, some Bitfinex users were depositing funds through an account on the HSBC bank related to Global Trading Solutions.
Moreover, Bitfinex seemed to be working with the Bank of Communications, located in Hong Kong. This time, the account was linked to Prosperity Revenue merchandising Limited. In November 2018, Bitfinex mentioned that they were working with another partner, the Bahamas Deltec Bank & Trust. Apparently, Bitfinex held $1.8 billion in this bank.
Now, in January 2019, Bitfiex was working with the Cayman Islands-based Sackville Bank & Trust Company.
This shows that it might not be so easy for cryptocurrency-related companies and institutions to have stable banking partners. This is something that have been experiencing several firms in the space, including crypto exchanges. For example, Binance had some problems to deal with banks on the island of Malta.
In Switzerland and Chile, some banks have also been denying services to crypto companies in these two countries. In Portugal, a bank decided to stop offering services to customers working with digital assets.