Stand With Crypto UK urges campaign against bank curbs on crypto transfers

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Stand With Crypto UK launches campaign urging formal complaints against British retail banks' blanket restrictions on crypto transactions, affecting about 8% of UK adults holding cryptoassets.
The UK Cryptoassets Business Council's January 2026 'Locked Out' report finds British banks block or delay 40% of all domestic crypto transactions, while 80% of exchanges report increased blocked transfers in the past 12 months.
Banks including Chase UK, Starling, TSB, Virgin Money and Metro Bank impose full bans, while Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and Monzo set transfer caps, sparking friction with the UK’s ambition to be a global Web3 hub.

Complaint drive targets retail banking restrictions

As reported by Stand With Crypto UK in a press release, the Coinbase-backed group is calling on members to file formal complaints against British retail banks over blanket restrictions on crypto transactions. The campaign challenges rules that block or cap customer transfers to exchanges, including platforms registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, and the group says about 8% of UK adults hold cryptoassets based on FCA research.

Stand With Crypto UK bases the campaign on the UK Cryptoassets Business Council's "Locked Out" report from January 2026, which surveyed 10 exchanges including Coinbase, Kraken, Uphold, Xapo Bank, Zumo, Wirex, OKX, Luno, Bitpanda and Gemini. The report says British banks block or delay 40% of all domestic crypto transactions, while 80% of the surveyed exchanges report an increase in blocked transfers over the past 12 months. One platform says banks reject up to 1 million pounds in transactions in a single year.

The group says banking restrictions fall into two categories. It says complete blocks are used by Chase UK, Starling, TSB, Virgin Money and Metro Bank, while Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and Monzo impose hard caps on the amount users can transfer to crypto exchanges.

Policy friction grows as UK seeks digital asset hub status

A day after the January 2026 report was published, a spokesperson for HM Treasury told CoinDesk that officials expect banks to treat all businesses fairly, including crypto services providers. The spokesperson says licensed firms should not be subject to account or transaction restrictions by banking services providers.

Stand With Crypto UK says the retail limits conflict with both existing rules and the government's stated ambition to make the UK a global Web3 hub. The group argues that under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, banks are obligated to execute payments that meet account conditions, and it says the broad restrictions are being applied regardless of an individual's risk profile.

Adriana Ennab, director at Stand With Crypto UK, says people across the UK are being blocked from accessing a legal asset class because banks choose to impose blanket restrictions on an entire sector. Katie Harries, head of policy, Europe, at Coinbase, says the government's digital asset ambition requires retail participation, but banks are choking off the key route from fiat money into crypto.

The pressure campaign adds to wider criticism of bank policies in the sector. Last year, UK trading platform IG released survey findings saying two in five UK crypto investors have had a payment blocked or delayed by their bank when trying to buy digital assets.

Our earlier coverage of conflicting UK employment measures examined how diverging labour market gauges are clouding the picture on whether productivity is genuinely improving. We noted that the uncertainty matters for assessing the outlook for growth, inflation, and Bank of England policy, because a true productivity rebound would change how much the economy can expand without adding price pressures.

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