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Andy Watson
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Capital Treasury Services (CTS), the company that links bitcoin businesses to banks in the Isle of Man, is to cut ties with the digital currency sector as of next month.
London, 16 September 2014 – Netagio, the leading UK Bitcoin, gold and sterling exchange, was informed on 15 September 2014 by the Capital International Group that its Isle of Man based subsidiary, Capital Treasury Services Limited (CTS), will be forced to withdraw their services to the digital currency sector, due to circumstances beyond their control.
CTS provide British banking relationships, treasury and payment solutions for British Bitcoin businesses. The decision comes after British banking partners have requested that CTS cease trading with all crypto-currency businesses.
Simon Hamblin, CEO of Netagio, said: “We entirely understand that the decision is outside the control of CTS because of their active engagement with the Department of Economic Development of the Isle of Man Government and the wider Crypto-Currency community both locally and internationally. They rely on the support of the wider financial services sector and this support has sadly been withdrawn.”
He continued: “As we look to the future, our customers are our first priority. We have been approached by a number of alternative finance providers in other jurisdictions, who are keen to work with us, to ensure that our customers’ investments are not only protected, but also they can continue to invest in Bitcoin and trade their positions against gold and GBP on the Netagio exchange.”
“Even without any need for regulatory compliance, we set up Netagio to the highest possible compliance standards, following the requirements of the European Payments Directive, adhering to all anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements and have even commissioned BDO, one of the top six auditors, to conduct a full and rigorous audit to provide assurances with regards to our Bitcoin storage, accessibility and security.”
“When we set up Netagio in June 2013, we anticipated that the world of bitcoin investments represented a new wave of innovation and enterprise for the British financial industry. As a supporter of FinTech in the UK, we were very keen to help build the UK’s position as a leading centre of innovation by offering Netagio’s customers access to the UK banking system.”
He added: “Britain is making claims about its commitment to innovation, not least in the area of FinTech, and yet, regrettably, the banking industry does not seem to share this commitment. The sad impact is that this view – which some might argue to be anti-competitive – ultimately will drive innovation, talent and future economic benefit to other jurisdictions.”
About Netagio
Netagio is the first and only British exchange on which retail customers and institutional investors can trade gold, Bitcoins and GBP on a single peer-to-peer exchange platform.
Our purpose is to help all customers take advantage of the emerging investment opportunities available, by providing a single continuous exchange to trade Bitcoins vs gold vs GBP cost-effectively and securely.
Building on our early successes of offering customers a place to simply buy and sell Bitcoins and/or gold in exchange for EUR/USD/GBP, today customers from 114 countries around the world can trade each asset class against each other on our exchange.
Customers can send and receive international payments via Capital Treasury Services Limited (CTS) which is licensed by the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission. As such, all funds are directed through the British banking system ensuring faster payments.
Built in Britain with domestic and international customers in mind, Netagio is designed for retail customers and institutional investors with an appetite for opportunity; to attract liquidity introducing a maker-taker fee model designed to reward liquidity providers, to the highest regulatory & compliance standards and for continued growth
Netagio is underpinned with the highest levels of security for digital and gold storage. In January 2014, Netagio introduced the first free gold-standard offline security vault for digital storage and all gold assets are stored in a highly-secure vault in Switzerland.
Netagio was founded in 2013 by a management team with a strong pedigree and track record of experience gained in the finance, security, commodity trading and precious metals sector. Netagio is a founder member of the UK Digital Currency Association.
Crypto Valley Summit
This week, the Isle of Man is playing host to a bitcoin conference titled Crypto Valley Summit on September 17-18th. The topic of banking is to be discussed on the first day in a panel discussion featuring Paul Davis, managing director of Counting House; Jason Field, CEO of Instabill; and Ian Bancroft, managing director of Cayman National IOM.
Other speakers at the event include His Excellency Adam Wood, lieutenant governor of the Isle of Man; Bobby Lee CEO of BTC China and Steve Beauregard, CEO ofGoCoin.
