According to Brazilian newspaper Folha, the Brazilian Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Association (ABCB) has filed an administrative motion against banks at Cade, the Brazilian regulatory organ responsible for overseeing antitrust and market fairness cases.
The motion was filed after Banco do Brasil, one of the country’s largest financial institutions, closed a cryptocurrency startup’s account for no apparent reason other than it dealt with cryptocurrency. According to ABCB director Fernando Furlan, fintechs and crypto-related startups need fair access to the financial system in order to survive and cannot be arbitrarily blocked by larger financial institutions. “It’s unacceptable from the [market] competitive point of view” he added.
Although the motion is directed at a particular case involving Banco do Brasil, it requests that the decision be extended to all banks. Earlier this year fintech Nubank, which is a 100% digital bank with a very popular zero yearly fee credit card, also filed a motion against the biggest banks in Brazil claiming unfair practices.
Banco do Brasil said they had not received Cade’s representation and would not comment on the case until they did.
Brazilian Central Bank president Ilan Goldfajn has in the past called Bitcoin a Ponzi Scheme. Before joining the Central Bank, Goldfajn was a top executive at Itau, one of Brazil’s largest banks, and also cited in the Nubank lawsuit.