George Osborne , the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, has to resolve the problem of getting a bank account in the United Kingdom for Bitcoin-related companies. UK banks are currently refusing BTC businesses to open standard banking accounts. Thus, even if Bitcoin startups have FCA support and are licensed, they are still unable to operate without a traditional bank account. BTC market experts expect George Osborne to act after the announcement to support digital currencies-friendly regulations was made during the Bank of England’s Open Forum on November 11. Tough job George Basiladze, the CEO of Bitcoin wallet and exchange service Cryptopay.me based in London since 2013, faced a bunch of problems related to Bitcoin regulation in the UK during that time. Here’s what he said to CoinTelegraph about the Osbourne’s initiative: “It’s very nice that Osbourne has mentioned bitcoins in his speech and we appreciate that. However, I do not think that this would result in any material change in current policy." George Basiladze, Cryptopay CEO faced a bunch of problems related to Bitcoin regulation in the UK However, George Basiladze points out that the main problem in the UK is not government regulation , but the failure to get bank accounts: “You may have a favorable regulations and the FCA may support and license you. But if you cannot get a bank account (just a standard one) you cannot operate. This is easy. Not for BTC companies, though. If you say that you are doing anything connected to bitcoins and bitcoin exchange , you will not get a bank account in the UK. Banks do not like bitcoin companies as they make their compliance department’s head explode. Companies cannot provide truly innovative solutions with ~ zero fees , because they do not have the means to do that. […]
