Bitbay Exchange Moves to Malta After Last Polish Bank Stops Service

Hostile or just overly cautions countries keep losing cryptocurrency-related businesses to more attractive jurisdictions, along with the jobs and tax money that go along with them. The latest example comes from Poland, which Bitbay has been forced to leave for Malta.

Also Read: Dominance of Big Banks in UK Means London Might Miss the Boat on Bitcoin

Farewell Poland

Poland-based international cryptocurrency exchange, Bitbay, has announced its decision to suspend the activity of the trading platform in Poland. Founded in 2014 in Katowice, the company is said to have over 200 employees and 800,000 users. The reason for the exit from its home market is that Bitbay can no longer receive banking services in the country.

“The activity of the Bitbay exchange in Poland requires cooperation with Polish bank. Unfortunately the last Polish bank ready to provide bank services undertook unilateral decision to finish the cooperation with Bitbay with the effect at the end of May. In those circumstances the continuation of providing high quality services by Bitbay exchange in Poland is no longer possible,” the company stated.

The move will occur in a couple of phases. After May 31st, access to PLN accounts will not be possible, but all other functions of the exchange in Poland will still be active. After the expiry of the notice period, September 18th, users will only be able to withdraw funds, and trading on the Bitbay exchange in Poland will be completely suspended. The exchange operations will be conducted by a new supplier in Malta with the same software that was used by the exchange in Poland, based on the domain bitbay.net under the Bitbay trademark.

Welcome to Malta

In explaining the specific location it is moving the exchange operations to, the company’s team say they have been conducting analysis for many months in order to find the most cryptocurrency-friendly place in the European Union. “Productive discussions with the government of Republic of Malta and friendly business environment provide Bitbay assurance that the choice of Maltese jurisdiction is the best solution.”

As we previously reported, the Maltese government’s has successfully focused on bringing in more international cryptocurrency business to booster the local economy this year. Back in March, Binance revealed that it would be moving its operations and starting to recruit 200 people to work on the island. In April, Okex announced it is also establishing its own entity in Malta.

Should exchanges move to friendlier locations or try and fight in the local courts? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. 

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