Potentially Setting A Precedence In Australia, ANZ Settles Crypto Debanking Case

Welcome to The Daily Forkast, October 19th, 2021, presented by Angie Lau. For the latest in blockchain & crypto news. On today's show:

00:00 Coming Up
00:37 Chinese crypto buyers find ways around transaction ban.
02:04 Singapore’s Atlas signs deal to expand US crypto mining operations.
03:52 Australia’s ANZ settles debanking case with Bitcoin trader.

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First up, where there's a will, there's always a way. In the case of China's cryptocurrency transaction ban that has seen people attempting to register overseas companies in order to bypass know-your-customer checks. Despite China cracking down on crypto activities with all its might, some users have been getting creative. Beijing Business Today reports that moves by more and more crypto exchanges to stop registering new customers and phase out existing users has resulted in investors making efforts to register companies overseas, which could allow them to trade crypto as corporations. And that has seen business opportunities emerge for intermediaries, with many vendors on China's major e-commerce marketplace Taobao, which is owned by Alibaba, offering such services. A customer representative in one vendor told Forkast.News that it has had clients successfully make crypto investments via an overseas company registration. The vendor says customers can register companies in the British Virgin Islands, Marshall Islands and the UK, with fees ranging from 1,800 to 7,800 yuan. That's around two US$280 to US$1,200. For the UK and BVI, the process takes just five to seven days when it takes eight to 10 days for registrations in the Marshall Islands.

Meanwhile, the crypto mining outflow from China to the United States continues. Crypto mining giant BitMining has announced it will cease all operations in China and invest in Ohio. And Singapore based Atlas Technologies Group says it is expanding its cryptocurrency mining operations in the United States as well. Atlas Technology has signed a multi-year deal with U.S. based cryptocurrency mining infrastructure provider Compute North. It will see Compute North providing over 100 megawatts co-location capacity for Atlas in the U.S, enough to power a small city. Atlas told Forkast.News, the U.S. office security for businesses like this. Heck says green mining and a shift to global operations are two key trends in the ASEC mining industry, and forming partnerships with large hosting companies is a strategic move. Atlas is also exploring expanding into Europe, South America and Africa to capitalize on the availability of renewable energy. But Heck says the strong economy and abundance of power in the U.S. is still a big draw for many players.

And finally, today, in what could set a new precedent in Australia, ANZ Bank has settled a case brought by a bitcoin trader. Alan Flynn claimed he had been de-banked because he operates a digital currency exchange. Most major banks in Australia have denied instances of de-banking crypto firms, but the issue is a hot topic forming part of the Senate inquiry into fintech regulations remit. Flynn said a statement from ANZ on Twitter, in which the bank said it acknowledged the disclosure of his accounts could have amounted to discrimination and is not the only de-banking claim Flynn has lodged. His second against another of Australia's largest banks, Westpac will be heard later this week. While Australia's banking sector has long denied allegations of the practice, there is a growing list of complaints from the crypto industry that they are being unfairly targeted.
Singapore based global payments unicorn Nium told a recent parliamentary hearing that Australia is the only country of the 40 in which it operates, that it has been de-banked in this way. A member of the Board of Blockchain Australia told Forkast.News he's hopeful Flynn's actions will push the conversation forward. The Senate Select Committees third and final report is due by the end of the month.

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#Crypto #Blockchain #BlockchainTechnology #DigitalAssets #Cryptocurrency #DeFi #Taobao #China #CryptoMining #BitMining #Ohio #AtlasTechnology #ANZ #CryptoTrading #Debanking

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