One of the largest banks in Portugal, Banco de Investimentos Globais (BiG), has blocked fiat transfers to cryptocurrency platforms, drawing attention to the country’s change of stance for cryptocurrency-related activities.
For now, this appears to be an independent decision from BiG and other banks have not made similar announcements.
Is Portugal’s Stance on Cryptocurrencies Changing?
Just over a week ago, MiCA went into effect across the EU, and the crypto community hopes that regulations will become clearer in the region – whether positive or negative. However, regulatory clarity remains at the heart of BiG’s controversial decision.
BiG evidence Compliance with directives from the European Central Bank, the European Banking Authority, and the Bank of Portugal was the reason behind its decision.
The bank also emphasized its commitment to comply with national anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations as part of this policy change.
“Cryptocurrency is inevitable, banks are dead, and these abuses only make more people want to move their assets on-chain,” said Portuguese crypto entrepreneur José Maria Macedo, write about BiG’s decision.
Even though BiG has taken this strict stance, other major Portuguese banks such as Caixa Geral de Depósitos continue to support fiat transfers to crypto platforms. This shows that BiG’s approach has not yet become the standard across the Portuguese banking industry.
Portugal, once considered a crypto tax haven, has gradually moved toward stricter regulatory oversight. In 2023, the country’s government introduced a 28% capital gains tax on short-term cryptocurrency holdings. The decision marked a departure from the previous liberal approach.
“While other banks in Portugal remain crypto-friendly, BiG stands alone in this regard. It happened right after Portugal introduced a new cryptocurrency tax – 28% on short-term profits – which changed everything. Looks like many people will move to DeFi now, because BiG is pushing them in that direction,” Mario Nawfar write on X (formerly Twitter).
BiG’s decision reflects broader regulatory trends in Europe, where the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Regulation aims to create a unified framework for digital asset activities in the EU. European Union.
However, attitudes towards cryptocurrencies vary greatly between EU member states.
Other EU Countries Tell A Different Story
In the Czech Republic, the governor of the national bank recently proposed adding Bitcoin to the country’s foreign currency reserves. He describes it as a diversification strategy rather than a significant investment.
In France, banking giant BPCE plans to offer Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency services by 2025 through its subsidiary Hexarq, in compliance with MiCA regulations.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank in Germany is introducing a Layer-2 solution to solve compliance issues for public chains.
Switzerland has taken a different approach. In 2024, the Swiss National Bank expressed a preference for blockchain assets over central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Switzerland’s banking sector has embraced cryptocurrency more openly, with the Bank of St. Galler Kantonalbank begins offering Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services to customers in 2023.
The restrictions from BiG stand in contrast to broader trends in Europe. The newly implemented MiCA framework provides assurance to banks across the EU that only compliant cryptocurrency platforms operate in the region.
This makes BiG’s decision to reduce cryptocurrency trading in Portugal an exception, as many financial institutions in Europe are increasingly looking for opportunities in the digital asset sector. digital.
