Australia’s Bitcoin businesses have a banking problem, and Stormrake says it is costing real money.
The Melbourne-based Bitcoin brokerage and custody provider reported approximately $8 million in blocked or delayed payments across January and February of 2026. The cause, according to the company, is debanking by some of the country’s biggest lenders.
Stormrake director Bisher Khudeira is not mincing words about the stakes. On October 12, 2026, he said debanking is the main factor holding back Bitcoin adoption in Australia.
Millions stuck in the pipes
The scale of the disruption goes well beyond one firm. Blocked payments across the wider industry during the same two-month window are estimated to exceed $50 million.
The affected transactions were not limited to big-ticket trades. They ranged from small amounts all the way up to individual payments of over $750,000.
Stormrake is led by CEO Michael Milmeister, with Khudeira serving as director. The company has positioned itself as a compliance-focused operator.
The banks involved are household names. Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie, and Westpac have all put restrictions in place, frequently pointing to fraud risk and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance as justification.
Khudeira’s argument is that legitimate businesses that invest in compliance and work to grow the ecosystem are being punished simply for operating in digital assets.
The regulator has already weighed in
On September 30, 2026, AUSTRAC, the country’s financial intelligence agency, issued updated guidance. It recommended against sector-wide debanking and urged banks to carry out individual risk assessments instead.
Yet guidance is not the same as a mandate. Despite the regulator’s position, many Bitcoin firms say they still cannot operate efficiently, with banks continuing to close accounts over perceived risk.
What this means for Australian crypto
Businesses are not standing still. Firms like Stormrake are repositioning around compliant products, including self-custody options, which let customers hold their own Bitcoin rather than leaving it with an intermediary.
Other companies are weighing alternatives such as overseas expansion or doubling down on compliance to reassure their banking partners.
Until then, Stormrake’s approximately $8 million in disrupted payments serves as a concrete measure of the problem.
Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.