Major US banks hostile toward Bitcoin, accounts at risk of closure, cryptocurrency busin…

We went undercover to try and open accounts at four of the largest U.S. banks, telling them ahead of time that we would use the account to buy and sell Bitcoin on Coinbase. The verdict is in—personal accounts are at risk of being closed, and accounts for cryptocurrency-related businesses are outright prohibited. Here are some solutions.

We went to four leading U.S. banks and two credit unions to determine their receptiveness to doing business with cryptocurrency users. Posing as a customer, we tried to open an account for depositing wages earned in Bitcoin, converted via Coinbase. We then inquired whether the account was at risk of closure based on each bank’s risk management policies.

Afterward, we looked into the possibility of opening an account for a fictitious Seattle-based business, CryptoMedia. The business would sometimes send and receive payments in Bitcoin but would have no other direct involvement with crypto.

U.S. Bank

Of the six banks we visited, U.S. Bank was the…