Ken Chigbo
Independent Analyst
- The First National Bank in South Africa is closing down crypto exchanges’ bank accounts.
- It was cited that regulation remains unclear around digital currencies in the country.
South Africa’s second-largest retail bank, The First National Bank (FNB), has notified that leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the country including Luno, ICE3X, and VALR, will be shutting down their bank accounts.
The reason for the closures is due to the unclear regulation around digital currencies. South Africa is actually the leading nation in the continent for cryptocurrency adoption.
In a letter from First National Bank it detailed:
FirstRand Bank has been considering its risk appetite in respect of virtual currencies and virtual currency exchanges for some time. Within this context the bank has taken the decision to discontinue the provision of banking services to virtual currency exchanges and/or entities dealing/trading in virtual currency. Future regulatory clarity may cause us to revise our decision.
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