On October 23, it was reported that Standard Bank, one of the largest banks in South Africa, sent an account termination notice to customers who provide automatic cryptocurrency arbitrage services.
This move caused an uproar in the local cryptocurrency industry. The issuance of these notices also raised questions about the standards used by Standard Bank when deciding which accounts must be terminated. For example, someone quoted Carel de Villiers, co-founder of arbitrage trading company Shiftly, as saying that he questioned the criteria used by Standard Bank.
Although de Villiers admitted that Shiftly is not a Standard Bank customer, he said that it is strange that the bank still maintains business relationships with its competitors. Note: The bank has refused Shiftly to open an account. Another arbitrage trader who asked not to be named also claimed that their account was terminated only because of the company’s arbitrage business model. These two statements were confirmed by Sean Sanders, founder of the cryptocurrency investment platform Revix. But a Standard Bank spokesperson defended the notice, insisting that the bank’s actions were non-discriminatory and only to ensure that all customers comply with regulatory requirements.