Who is affected?
Justcoin and it’s users
The major hit is taken by Justcoin.com, the Norwegian flagship for cryptocurrency exchanges. JustCoin had close to 70,000 active traders and stood out in the bitcoin community as one of the most trustworthy and innovative exchange in Scandinavia. It has now been forced by the Norwegian banks to shut it’s doors and that affects not only the business itself but also it’s users and other business utilizing it’s services.
Dear Justcoin user,
Deposits are closed. Trading will close tomorrow, October 29th. We urge all users to withdraw their funds as soon as possible. Final deadline for withdrawals is November 11th. You may find useful information on wallets at .
Please allow up to 24 hours for your withdrawals to process. We will manually batch withdrawals of all currencies. Cancelling a requested withdrawal will put you in the back of the line.
Justcoin is shutting down all operations. Our bank has notified us that it will no longer accept businesses dealing with digital currencies. The same goes for other Norwegian banks. Without a bank account we have no business and need to shut down. This event demonstrates the need for decentralized payment networks.
If you need help or have problems with the withdrawal process please contact [email protected]. We want to thank all our loyal customers for their support and wish you all the best.
Thank you,
Klaus & Andreas, founders.
Justcoin is shutting down. Affected users, check your email.
— Justcoin Exchange (@jstcoin) October 28, 2014
Why have the banks made this decision?
So far none of the major news outlets in Norway has reported on the matter, nor has clear explanation why this decision was made been expressed by the Norwegian banks.
Is this the end for bitcoin in Norway?
No, not at all, this is just the beginning. I believe we should openly express our feelings about these matters. Is corporate censorship on this level ok?
How can we move forward?
When moments like this occur it might feel like there is no way around the big banks and that there is a long time before cryptocurrencies gain mainstream traction. Whether or not this is true is up to us to decide but it clearly demonstrates the need for decentralized payment networks. For bitcoin businesses to currently function they need that bridge into the fiat currency system.
If you want to buy bitcoin as a user you can always use LocalBitcoins.com. LocalBitcoins is a marketplace for trading bitcoins locally for cash or online payments of your choice.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
– Mahatma Gandhi
