Supreme Court Sides With Bitcoin Broker "Bits of Gold" in Israeli Bank Dispute
Upon appeal, the Israeli Supreme Court has rejected the closure of Bits of Gold’s banking facilities at Leumi bank, Tel Aviv.
The Israeli cryptocurrency brokerage’s appeal followed a previous ruling against it that has now been set aside by the higher court.
As Israel and many other countries struggle with the accelerated phenomenon of virtual currencies, Leumi Bank recently made the news for being a particularly blunt in its rejection of Bitcoin.
We should of course not be surprised with the banks attitude towards bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency for that matter. keep in mind that the banks become more and more obsolete because of them. 
They will keep on loosing money which now they make with ridiculous commissions of work that is fully automated. so they will try to see how they are able to make the operation and acquiring cryptos as hard as possible knowing that they will never be able to stop them.
There is widespread anticipation that the upcoming G20 Summit in March 2018 will produce a global, moderate framework for a regulatory approach. Set against that are persistent hostile stances the world over from banks, asset managers and even governments towards cryptocurrencies.
Now that the countries understand there is money to be made with Taxation in cryptocurrencies they might want to make sure that the banks stay within their lane.
Apart from the Israeli revenue service opting to tax cryptocurrency assets as “properties” and other more positive developments dating back to mid-2017, Israel remains a strange mix of genteel acceptance alongside wildly opposing voices.
There is thus Hope But no decision
Bits of Gold has fought a David and Goliath battle since their banker decided it wanted to steer clear of all cryptocurrency-related business.
On record as recently telling another bitcoin-related trader that they simply don’t want the business, Leumi Bank’s hard-line stance is accumulating bad press. The second-largest bank in Israel appears as discriminatory when analyzing virtual currency traders and other digital coin businesses.
During 2017, a customer made a bank transfer to the Kraken exchange site for buying bitcoin worth $1000. The bank identified the request, halted it, and started investigating.
The elated CEO of Bits of Gold, Youval Rouach said that “The court’s decision enables us to focus on the growth of the Israeli cryptocurrency community.”
The February 26 Supreme Court ruling granted Bits of Gold a temporary injunction against their account closure pending further scrutiny by the bank and other parties. The presiding bench declared that the company had “acted transparently and did not violate any provision of law.”
Calling the bank’s concerns “speculative” and turning an unsympathetic ear to the plaintiff, the ruling does, however, allow for the bank to still close the account on any small technical detail that defies legislation. As a record of a public spat around cryptocurrency’s right to be recognized in many ways, the ruling is seen as a victory for the local cryptocurrency community.
One Small Step Forward
Although not as absolute as nations like China that has opted for draconian bans, Israel is a front line for digital coins’ right not just to exist, but also become assets in the true sense of the word. The Supreme Court noted in its written ruling that Bits of Gold had not made itself guilty of the violation of any standing laws since opening its doors for business.
The Bits of Gold v. Leumi Bank case might become something of a test case once the bank applies its mind in scrutinizing the company’s accounts against the backdrop of existing legislation. The outcome will also be informed by sentiment post the G20 Summit due in March as well as other global regulatory trends.
Now that the countries understand there is money to be made with Taxation in cryptocurrencies they might want to make sure that the banks stay within their lane.
This was First Published by coindesk
