Forty percent of UK crypto users reported banks blocked or delayed payments when attempting to buy digital assets. Banks typically cite fraud prevention as the reason for intervening in crypto transactions. Forty-two percent of adults opposed banks interfering in crypto transactions, while 33% supported such intervention. The interventions have tangible effects: 35% of affected users switched banks, 29% filed formal complaints, 22% reduced transaction sizes to avoid blocks, and 10% abandoned purchases. Warnings indicate the UK risks falling behind in attracting digital asset businesses without clearer regulatory frameworks and banking accommodation.
We're in a damaging position where millions of people are effectively being locked out of crypto just because of who they bank with. This kind of behaviour is at best anti-consumer, at worst anti-competitive - and it's not backed by the public. This overreach from banks is only possible because there's still no clear UK regulatory framework in place governing crypto.
However, the UK public appears unconvinced by that reasoning. When asked, 42% of adults said they opposed banks interfering in crypto transactions, compared with just 33% who supported such action. For many investors, the restrictions are more than an inconvenience. More than a third (35%) of respondents said they had switched banks to one more amenable to crypto purchases, while 29% had filed a formal complaint.
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