Oz Bitcoin traders cry 'conspiracy' over bank bans

Bitcoin traders in Australia reckon the country's banks are blanket-banning them in an effort to stave off possible competition from the crypto-currency.

A couple of individuals who operated Bitcoin trading operations have told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that Westpac, the Commonwealth Bank, the National Australia Bank and ANZ Bank are all refusing to deal with them.

Their plight (if that's the right word) is being highlighted by Labor senator Sam Dastyari, who chaired the Senate Economics References Committee and told the ABC the banks were ganging up to “prevent the growth of new industries”.

The bankers' union's Australian Bankers' Association noted that the country's current lack of regulation meant institutions had to weigh up the risks of dealing with Bitcoin traders. Acting CEO Tony Pearson said there's “a clear and settled legal and regulatory framework for digital currencies”.

The Australian Financial Review reckons the banks have sent letters threatening to cut off the accounts of 17 traders, including “Bit Trade and Buyabitcoin”.

Bit Trade founder Ron Tucker complained that banks are neither giving reasons for their actions, nor explaining what bankers want traders to do, to keep their accounts operating.

Westpac told the newspaper one of its concerns was compliance with money-laundering laws.

“The current Bitcoin operating model requires very tough compliance and assurance requirements to ensure we meet the high standards required under anti-money laundering regulations," a bank spokeswoman told the AFR.

+Comment: While nobody would endorse anti-competitive conduct from the banks, Vulture South would also note that the banks are probably wondering where the fallout from operations like Mt Gox are going to finally land.

Checking some individual sites against HTTPS testers yields results best described as inconsistent, something we'll delve into more thoroughly at another time.

There is a local industry association, the Australian Digital Currency Commerce Association (its founder is Bit Trade's Ron Tucker), but it doesn't yet see fit to list its members, which makes it less-than-useful for consumer protection. ®