UK Banks Still Blocking Bitcoin, Policy Group Tells Parliament

Bitcoin Policy UK has slammed British banks for applying blanket restrictions to lawful bitcoin activity. 

The organization said in an announcement Friday that it had submitted evidence to the Crypto and Digital Assets APPG’s parliamentary inquiry into banking access, revealing that no improvements had been made over the past three years in how banks treat bitcoin activity. 

The issue: UK policy treats “crypto” as one thing, so bitcoin is caught by rules written for unbacked tokens and issuer-dependent stablecoins.

The British government has said since 2023 that banks should assess case by case rather than restrict by sector. The group says practice has not followed, and that the gap is widening as the UK moves toward full implementation of its cryptoasset regime in 2027. 

Bitcoin Policy UK called on British banks to give reasons for rejecting bitcoin-related activity. 

“Almost three years after we first raised blanket banking restrictions with the City Minister, our evidence to the Crypto and Digital Assets APPG inquiry shows the problem hasn’t improved,” Bitcoin Policy UK said in a Sunday post on X.  

“Roughly 40% of bank-to-exchange transfers in the UK are currently blocked or delayed.”

The organization filed evidence with the Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group’s inquiry into banking access.