Coinbase-backed advocacy group Stand With Crypto UK has called on its 286,000 members to file formal complaints with banks. The reason was that banks in the UK widely blocked or delayed payments to cryptocurrency exchanges. The campaign is based on the view that users’ access to legal crypto transactions is limited by banks.
Mass complaint call to banks
Although holding crypto assets is legal in the UK, banks argue that they limit transfers in this area, citing fraud and financial crime risks. Those who oppose this state that the practices are applied equally to all customers, not according to specific risk profiles, and therefore constitute a de facto mass blocking.
According to data from the UK Crypto Asset Business Council, around 40% of domestic crypto transactions in the country are currently either blocked or delayed by banks. Additionally, the proportion of British adults who own crypto assets has doubled in the last four years to 8%.
According to the UK government’s approach, licensed crypto companies are not expected to face account or transaction restrictions simply because of the sector in which they operate.
The “Your Money. Your Choice” campaign, run by Stand With Crypto UK, is prompting customers to demand official responses from banks. The group argues that most mainstream banks impose transfer bans or limits even on platforms authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Mini glossary: The Financial Conduct Authority is the regulatory body that oversees financial markets in the UK. Crypto companies are subject to a registration or authorization process with this institution within the framework of compliance with certain money laundering rules.
Reports and bank applications
Under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, payments that meet account conditions must be settled by banks. In contrast, according to the Locked Out report published in January 2026, 8 out of 10 crypto platforms reported an increase in rejected bank transfers in the last 12 months. An exchange reported that up to £1 million of customer transactions were rejected by banks in a single year.
According to the information shared in the campaign, Chase UK, Starling, TSB, Virgin Money and Metro Bank have completely stopped money transfers and card payments to crypto exchanges. Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide and Monzo allow transfers but place strict limits on the amounts that can be sent.
Similarities to the debate in the US
This tension in England is being compared to the controversial Operation Choke Point 2.0 process in the USA. However, there is an important difference between the two files. Crypto advocates in the US claimed that under Joe Biden, federal banking regulators put unofficial pressure on banks and asked them to stay away from digital asset companies.
At a hearing held at the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee in February 2025, subcommittee chairman Dan Meuser said that the FDIC was trying to prevent the provision of services to digital asset companies, their employees and customers by threatening official supervisory steps against banks. In the UK, it is claimed that similar pressure comes directly from banks, not regulators.
Katie Harries, head of European policy at Coinbase, said the banks’ stance contradicts the government’s goal of making the UK a global digital asset hub. Harries argued that this vision would not progress without retail investor participation, while banks narrowed the primary channel for the transition from fiat to crypto.
Advocacy groups also point out that some banks have established internal digital asset teams. Therefore, the question remains whether the restrictions imposed on individual customers are for security purposes or an anti-competitive approach aimed at weakening rival services.
