Largest Independent Broker in Brazil to Launch a Crypto Exchange
The parent company of Brazil’s largest independent broker is planning to come with its own cryptocurrency exchange, as per official reports Thursday. Grupo XP basically plans to launch the platform in the next coming months. The company, which also owns a brokerage firm called XP Investimentos also wants to support trading in both Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Being Reluctant
However, despite the notable move, the firm seems a little reluctant to dip their toe in the crypto waters. Speaking at an event in Sao Paulo, the firm’s executive officer named Guilherme Benchimol said:
“I must confess, this is a theme I’d rather didn’t exist, but it does. We felt obligated to start advancing in this market.”
Benchimol was also quoted as saying that the company made the move to launch the exchange because 3 million or so Brazilians already own some Bitcoin, while far fewer, around 600,000, have holdings in stocks.
The firm’s upcoming crypto exchange is dubbed XDE. This move by Grupo XP comes as the environment for crypto exchanges in the country may be about to ease.
Investigating Some Major Banks
Brazil’s antitrust watchdog said this week that it is investigating whether major banks in the country worked together to halt services to cryptocurrency-focused firms.
The Administrative Council for Economic Defense, which is an official wing of the Brazilian government, revealed it was investigating the Banco do Brasil, Banco Santander Brasil, Banco Inter and others for shutting down crypto platforms’ accounts.
These banks allegedly shut down accounts belonging to cryptocurrency traders and brokerages.
The investigation comes some months after the Brazilian Association for Cryptocurrency and Blockchain called for such a probe, with the group reportedly claiming that banks were “abusing their power” in denying crypto companies services.
“In fact, the main banks are imposing restrictions or even prohibiting … access to the financial system by cryptocurrency brokerages,” it said in a report.
The banks, on the other hand, are denying the claims thrown at them. They are instead claiming that accounts were shuttered due to missing client data. Under Brazilian law, this data is required for anti-money laundering (AML) purposes.
It is worth noting that Brazil is not the only country where purported antitrust violations are affecting cryptocurrency startups. In Chile, for example, there is an ongoing lawsuit that alleges banks banded together to shut down any accounts belonging to cryptocurrency exchanges.