HSBC Bans Customers From Transacting With Cryptocurrency-based Companies

As at the time of writing this news, the following information was gathered;

British bank HSBC has instituted a policy that prevents it's clients from buying stocks from companies that hold Bitcoin like Microstrategy. Hence; all companies with bitcoin treasure could be on the chopping block at HSBC.

The bank's current policy applies to products related or referencing the performance of digital currencies.

In addition, all of the companies with bitcoin treasuries might no longer be recognized by HSBC.

An HSBC customer reacted to the disclosure by sharing this message "HIDC (HSBC Invest Direct) will not facilitate (buy and/or exchange) products related to virtual currencies or products related or referencing to the performance of virtual currency" he received from the bank informing him of the policy change regarding to cryptocurrencies, in particular the bitcoin and ethereum.

Perhaps the new bank policy applies to products related or referencing the performance of digital currencies, and directed to a particular stock called Microstrategy.

Records have shown that Microstrategy INCA-MSTR-US, a virtual currency product is partnering with HSBC on the account called Inves Direct. Although Microstrategy does not offer any crypto service but buys BTC in large amounts. The company's primary aim is to acquire Cryptocurrency, and it has succeeded up to a volume of 100k BTC.

HSBC further details that "while we will permit the holdings of MSTR-US to be held and/or sold/transfer-out in HSBC Invest Direct account, new purchases or transfers will not be allowed.

However, the financial institution did not specify how much bitcoin a company has to hold in order for its stock to be banned from the bank.

Microstrategy has made it a policy to hold 100% of its treasury in BTC.

Other important updates from the news include;

A good number of companies have agreed that they are investing in bitcoin, but in smaller percentages compared to Microstrategy. A good example of such companies are Elon Musk's Telsa, which invested $1.5 billion in January,and Jack Dorsey's Square Inc is another example that has 5% of it's total cash reserve in bitcoin.

Equally a list of growing companies have been carefully selected by the website bitcointreasuries.org.

A speculator on twitter commented on the policy; that HSBC Canada is probably arbitrarily deciding what percentage bitcoin reserve is ok for clients to invest in.

HSBC clients who received the notice equally tweeted to Microstrategy's CEO Michael Saylor to give them an opportunity to find out the opinions of their legal team on the decision by HSBC.

The customer finally concludes that all these companies might be at Jeopardy because they hold BTC.

What are your thoughts about HSBC's new policy on its clients?