Crypto Friendly Fidor Bank Leaves the UK Market Due to “Uncertainties”

Crypto Friendly Fidor Bank Leaves the UK Market Due to “Uncertainties”

Fidor, one of the world’s friendliest bank for the crypto industry has closed its doors to the United Kingdom, leaving London last month.

Asked if this had anything to do with Brexit, the German online bank which has been operating in UK for years said:

“Due to the uncertainties surrounding the UK market at this current time, we have decided to withdraw our product and service offering in the UK on the 15th of September 2019.”

The bank describes itself as “the world’s oldest fintech bank,” stating they have “strong expertise in crypto-related topics.”

They used to offer UK businesses and customers a Fidor ICO Account to support Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) and a Fidor Exchange Account which interacts with actual cryptocurrencies.

Their exit was announced when the chances of a no-deal crash out were high. Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister, has now managed to secure a deal, but he hasn’t yet had the chance of having a vote on it.

The opposition is trying to delay it with yet another showdown in parliament later today as political games continue while the Prime Minister tries to force the deal through.

Ending uncertainty has been one of his biggest selling point with phrases like “get it done” and “move on” continuously repeated.

Yet whether it will be done remains to be seen with this deal or no deal situation potentially also contributing to Coinbase’s move to Ireland from London.

Coinbase specifically stated the move was “to secure passporting for our customers across the EU and EEA.”

As a member of the European Union, a company that complies with UK’s FCA rules or other regulatory rules is considered as if complying with the rules of the entire European Union, otherwise called passporting because it removes compliance requirements with say the French or German regulators.

In a no deal situation UK companies that want to serve the EU market would have to get licenses and other compliance papers from the regulator of an EU country.

If the deal goes through, then there’s a transition period during which passporting continues, with negotiations then moving to a full trade deal.

Just what will be agreed on that deal remains to be seen, but passporting might be one of the key demands to secure London’s continued prominence as a financial centre and as a fintech centre that can compete with New York and sometimes can even surpass it.

Europeans’ opinion on whether this would be good for Europe seems to have changed after this deal, with many of them on social media now saying UK leaving is a good thing.

The UK government itself claims EU wants UK out with a general feeling that the two can strike a great deal for both in a “deep and special partnership.”

Copyrights Trustnodes.com

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