According to Odaily Planet Daily, Investimentos Globais (BiG), one of the largest banks in Portugal, has begun blocking transfers of fiat currency to crypto platforms. The move follows the guidelines of the European Central Bank, the European Banking Authority and the Bank of Portugal.
BiG said the decision was made to comply with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws. BiG manages about 7 billion euros (about 7.2 billion U.S. dollars) in assets. For now, this is an isolated case, and other banks such as Caixa Geral de Depósitos can still make transfers.
Macedo criticized BiG’s move, saying that cryptocurrencies are inevitable and such actions by banks will only encourage more people to move their wealth onto the chain.