The hardest part about starting a Bitcoin business isn’t the currency’s volatility, nuanced local and federal money transmitter guidance, or explaining to your family that Bitcoin isn’t just a black market thing. Those things can be really hard, but they pale in comparison to finding a bank account. This is the single most difficult task you’ll undergo when building a Bitcoin business and it’s a major bottleneck for startups.

Unless you’re Coinbase, the moment you tell a bank that you’re working with Bitcoin, they’re going to stop doing business with you. To be clear, it’s not very difficult to walk into your local Bank of America and open up a bank account and start making deposits. But the second your bank starts asking where the money is coming from, that’s when you’re out of luck.

The problem is that bank accounts associated with Bitcoin-related activities are not currently backed by the FDIC, or the government-backed entity that pays you back if your bank loses your money. And it doesn’t look like this is going to change anytime soon despite the key consumer protection risks it introduces. Until the FDIC amends its rules to allow Bitcoin activities it’s going to be even more difficult for new startups to get off the ground. How can you scale without a bank account?

Although there’s a good chance your bank freezes your account when they find out you’re doing business with bitcoins, we are hearing more and more about companies having success in getting their accounts unfrozen shortly thereafter. The most effective strategy is lawyering up if you can afford it. Bitcoin startups who have their lawyers send a clear, concise explanation of their business and its legitimacy can go a long way in dissolving any wariness from their bank.

Someday we’re going to look back on these startup difficulties as temporary growing pains in a nascent industry. It won’t be like this forever. But for now, the most successful Bitcoin businesses all seem to be executing first and apologizing later.