Despite the global proliferation of cryptocurrencies, many traditional banks are struggling to fully adapt to this space. Significant differences emerge between the approaches to crypto transactions between major banks, especially those operating in the UK and the US.
Banks’ Approach to Crypto Transactions in the UK
Strategies for cryptocurrency transactions vary widely among leading banks in the UK. While banks within Revolut and Lloyds Group allow both bank transfers and cryptocurrency transactions via debit card, many banks impose serious restrictions. For example, while Barclays and HSBC UK impose certain amount limits, Barclays imposes a limit of £ 2,500 in a single transaction and £ 10,000 in 30 days. Nationwide, on the other hand, sets a maximum cap of £5,000 on daily transactions. Banks such as NatWest and Santander follow an even stricter policy with monthly limits.
Crypto Transactions Completely Banned in Some Banks
Major banks such as Virgin Money, Metro Bank, Starling Bank, TSB and Chase UK have completely blocked all cryptocurrency transactions via bank transfers and cards. While customers working with Wise cannot purchase crypto via bank transfer, they can purchase via card transactions. This chart reveals that banks in the UK are limiting access to crypto with internal risk controls rather than fully integrating it.
Limited Access to Bitcoin Transactions at US Banks
In the United States, the banking industry is more cautious about crypto assets. Among the country’s 25 largest banks, the number of institutions providing direct Bitcoin trading or custody services is still low. Although JP Morgan Chase announced that it provides trading support for Bitcoin transactions, it does not yet offer custody services. Citigroup, on the other hand, is working to develop its own custody solution. On the other hand, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley only provide limited crypto trading to clients with high portfolio sizes.
At these major American financial institutions, individual users’ direct access to crypto asset transactions is very limited and full-fledged custody services appear to be generally lacking.
These institutions, which work with a wide customer base, remain cautious in meeting the increasing interest in digital assets; On the other hand, crypto markets are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the acceleration of tokenization, especially with spot Bitcoin ETFs, makes the gap even more obvious.
Traditional banks often base their restrictive policies on reasons such as fraud risk, regulatory uncertainty and customer protection. However, the imposed obstacles also cause delays in operation.
The friction between the banking infrastructure and the crypto market is becoming more visible, especially as institutional capital’s interest in digital assets grows. While cryptocurrency products are traded on exchanges and discussed at the sovereign level, most consumers still face serious restrictions at the bank level.
