HSBC Closes Bank Account Linked to Hong Kong Protests Jonathan Ganor 2019-11-18 03:46:29 849 views

Did Big Banks Just Make A Very Good Case for Bitcoin?

Ever since the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill was introduced 6 months ago, Hong Kong has been undergoing massive protests. These protests have been growing ever tense with the Hong Kong police shooting a protester at point-blank range and other clashes. Things have been escalating further recently with protesters barricading themselves in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

These protests have put some Western corporations that have dealings with China in a bit of an odd position. Many have tried to appease the Chinese government at the cost of popularity in the West. This includes the NBA and Blizzard's ban of an eSports player that voiced support for the protests.

It now appears that major banks might be following the NBA & Blizzard's precedent.

HSBC Banning Accounts Linked to Protests?

As reported by Bloomberg, the British banking giant HSBC has shut down a corporate account in Hong Kong that funded protester related activities. HSBC claim that the account was being used in a manner inconsistent with its original paperwork. The account holder was given a 30-day notice that will expire by the end of the week.

An HSBC representative responded "As part of our responsibility to know our customers and safeguard the financial industry, we regularly review our customers' accounts. If we spot activity differing from the stated purpose of the account or missing information, we will proactively review all activity, which can also result in account closure."

It appears that HSBC just made Bitcoin & cryptocurrencies even more attractive. Unlike bank accounts seizing or closing a Bitcoin wallet is nearly impossible. Seeing that banks cannot be trusted; protesters might turn to alternatives that do not require trust.

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