Bitcoin Policy UK told a parliamentary inquiry that British banks still apply blanket restrictions to lawful bitcoin activity, with roughly 40% of bank-to-exchange transfers blocked or delayed. The group says three years of government guidance to assess risk case by case has changed nothing in practice.
Bitcoin Policy UK has submitted evidence to the Crypto and Digital Assets APPG's parliamentary inquiry into banking access, arguing that UK banks still treat lawful bitcoin activity as suspect by default. The group said no improvement has occurred over the past three years.
Banks still block or delay transfers
According to a Sunday post on X, Bitcoin Policy UK said: "Roughly 40% of bank-to-exchange transfers in the UK are currently blocked or delayed." The group says Virgin Money, Metro Bank, Starling Bank, TSB and Chase UK block transfers and card payments outright, while Barclays and HSBC cap transfers at £2,500 ($3,400) per transaction.
A joint survey by Startup Coalition, the UK Cryptoasset Business Council and Global Digital Finance, published in January 2025, found that half of the UK fintech and crypto firms it canvassed had been refused a bank account or had one closed, and only 14% had opened and kept an account with one of the country's nine largest banks. Most of the affected firms were UK-based operations rather than firms with no domestic presence.
Restrictions widening as regime nears
The government has said since 2023 that banks should assess bitcoin activity case by case rather than restrict it by sector, but Bitcoin Policy UK says practice has not followed. The group argues the gap is widening as the UK moves toward full implementation of its cryptoasset regime in 2027.
An IG Group survey from August 2025 found 40% of active crypto investors had a payment blocked or delayed by their own bank. Bitcoin Policy UK also said 80% of exchanges surveyed reported restrictions had increased over the previous year, with none reporting an improvement.
Four asks put to Parliament
The submission makes four requests: a regulatory statement that bitcoin activity through an FCA-registered exchange should not face blanket restriction; a duty on banks to give specific reasons and an appeals route; confirmation that FCA registration can serve as a risk basis, as it does in Hong Kong; and a published periodic measure of restriction levels.
City Minister Lucy Rigby said in December that Britain can compete with the United States and become an international hub for cryptoassets.
Source: Bitcoin Policy UK
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