Boaz Sobrado

It’s not illegal to sell after the top too

I thought I was a victim of "Operation Choke Point 2.0." Turns out, the Europeans are "debanking" me. I only learned this when I was blocked from making a transaction with funds held in my @wise account. Many other EU businesses are in the same boat: First, the use of the term "debanked" here is intended to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. When I realized my account had been restricted, with no notice, I initially thought it was because I had recently received a payment from a client in the cryptocurrency space for consulting and sponsorship work. I assumed (most likely incorrectly, though it actually isn't clear) that Wise's transaction monitoring had flagged the company's name and incorrectly determined that it was a transaction from selling/trading crypto, in violation of Wise's T&Cs -- a false positive. Upon further investigation, I realized that a material but unknown number of EU-based businesses were complaining of the same thing -- only realizing that Wise had restricted their accounts when payments began failing. Some businesses noted that this would block them from making critical payments, like required taxes and even employee payroll. Multiple calls to Wise customer service shed no additional light on why my account had been restricted -- and actually added to the confusion, as over the course of several calls, agents gave contradictory information and gave information that did not align with a written policy on Wise's site. The account restrictions other EU businesses and I am experiencing are most likely a response to regulatory pressure Wise is facing to remediate serious AML deficiencies. The company was hit with a multi-state enforcement action in the U.S. earlier this year, had its OCC charter application denied over AML shortcomings, is alleged to have facilitated transactions for Hamas-linked Gaza Now, and has been tied to crypto "pig butchering" schemes, among other issues. Perhaps more relevant given the apparent EU-focus of this action, Wise was publicly "named and shamed" by the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) and is reportedly under criminal investigation by prosecutors in the country for facilitating more than €500 million in suspicious transactions, with numerous cases related to fraud, illegal casinos, and narcotics. The NBB made public the fact that Wise failed to comply with a previously non-public order to remediate issues related to its anti-money laundering compliance obligations by March 31, 2026. Per the FT, a NBB review in 2022 found that Wise lacked proof of address for hundreds of thousands of customers. The second order, published this September, requires Wise to come into compliance with the specified regulations no later than January 31, 2027. Wise appears to be working to clean up these issues in advance of that deadline. But a review of Wise's current UX shows that capabilities to collect information on users' residence status, source of wealth, and account purpose, commonly needed KYC elements, appears not to actually be operational.

What does it actually take to build the financial infrastructure connecting traditional money with crypto? Our Co-Founder & CEO, @SamiStart, joined @sobradob on the On The Margin podcast for an insightful conversation about scaling Transak, navigating complex regulatory environments, and the future of stablecoin-powered finance. The conversation explores: 🔹 What it takes to build compliant fiat-to-crypto infrastructure across global markets. 🔹 Why KYC, fraud prevention, and regulatory licensing remain some of the industry's biggest challenges. 🔹 How stablecoin adoption is moving beyond speculation toward real-world financial applications. 🔹 The infrastructure powering fiat-to-crypto transactions in applications like @MetaMask, @TrustWallet, and @phantom. 🎥 Watch the full conversation: youtube.com/watch?v=5cDfB50J…

I have a codex scheduled task that checks my inbox for train tickets, works out which journeys arrived late and submits the delay repay claims it’s been cooking recently