The Poland central bank has appeared to sponsor a national campaign discouraging citizens from using cryptocurrencies, telling them they are “not money.”
Virtual Currencies ‘Not Money Within Meaning Of Law’
A dedicated website, which translates as ‘beware of cryptocurrencies,’ features multiple sections warning users about perceived dangers of non-fiat-based financial instruments.
“Virtual currencies are not money,” the lead heading of the website states, followed by:
cryptocurrencies are not currencies.
The contact details of the site’s publishers refer users to the Polish central bank, suggesting a concerted official effort on behalf of lawmakers to present Bitcoin and altcoins as being in a legal gray area.
“Cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies, digital currencies are not ‘electronic money’ within the meaning of the law,” it is claimed.
It is a digital representation of a contractual value among its users, which is not issued and guaranteed by any central bank in the world (eg Polish zloty is issued by the National Bank of Poland).
Australian Banks Block Bitcoin Exchange Payments… Again
While authorities in Europe have issued multiple strongly-worded warnings about alternatives to their various national currencies as Bitcoin gains in value, Poland appears to be the first state to set up a dedicated portal against it.
Earlier this month, Denmark’s central bank chief decried Bitcoin as “deadly” and told the country not to use it.
Reacting on social media, Bitcoin users were bearish about the Polish discovery, one Reddit commentator describing the website as the “next phase” in central bank crackdowns on cryptocurrencies.
At the same time, investors across the world in Australia have begun reporting instances of banks blocking their accounts after they attempted to send funds to legal cryptocurrency exchanges.
The practice has been sporadically reported throughout the past few years in various countries, with banks remaining silent on the impetus behind the seemingly random blocks. As local news media outlet Sydney Morning Herald reports today, the latest spate involving Australian institutions is no exception.
So @NAB @CommBank @WestpacNZ and @ANZ_AU are all freezing customer accounts and transfers to @BTCMarkets @coinspotau @GetCoinJar @coinbase . #Banks can fight it, but people want control of their money #ausbiz #auspol
— Nugget's News Australia (@nugget_alex) December 28, 2017
“We assure you we are just as unhappy with the situation as you, but unfortunately Australian banks have been so far unwilling to work with the digital currency industry which leads to frequent account closures and strict limits on accounts whilst they remain operational, in effect debanking our industry,” the publication quotes Coinspot, one of the exchanges affected, as stating.
What do you think about Polish and Australian banking reactions to cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter
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