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Increased scrutiny by Australian authorities in the cryptocurrency sector has resulted in banks being hesitant to work with crypto exchanges and companies. One of the country’s largest banks, National Australia Bank, has joined other leading banks in the country such as Westpac Banking, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group to block payments to high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges.
National Australia Bank Blocks Access to Crypto Exchanges
National Australia Bank, one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia, has started blocking transfers to high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. The primary reason cited for the bank’s decision to block access to specific cryptocurrency exchanges is concerns over risks associated with cryptocurrency fraud.
Chris Sheehan, the executive responsible for group investigations and fraud at National Australia Bank, stated, “These scammers are organized and part of transnational criminal groups. We see that they use cryptocurrency exchanges to quickly send stolen funds overseas.”.
Prior to National Australia Bank, three of the country’s leading banks, Westpac Banking, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, had already started blocking access to cryptocurrency exchanges, and Binance was affected by this decision.
According to National Australia Bank, Australians targeted by cryptocurrency fraud lost 221 million Australian dollars (151 million US dollars) last year. Additionally, approximately 50% of fraud cases reported to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre in the past 30 days are related to cryptocurrency. National Australia Bank did not provide specific notification to the cryptocurrency exchanges affected by its initiative, but it labeled them all as high-risk.
Binance Faces Regulatory Challenges in Australia
Following Binance Australia’s banking partner Cuscal terminating their collaboration due to increasing fraud concerns and major bank Westpac banning customers from transferring funds to cryptocurrency exchanges in May, Binance had to halt Australian dollar (AUD) deposits and withdrawals.
Australia had become one of the largest and most vibrant cryptocurrency markets, generating billions of dollars in daily trading volume. However, actions taken by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) targeting cryptocurrency exchanges significantly impacted daily trading volume, causing it to decline.
