Bitcoin Policy UK has handed evidence to the Crypto and Digital Assets APPG's parliamentary inquiry into banking access, arguing that the last three years have brought no improvement in how banks treat bitcoin activity. The group says roughly 40% of bank-to-exchange transfers in the UK are now blocked or delayed, and it wants the government to back up its guidance with regulation.
No improvement in three years
The British government has said since 2023 that banks should assess each customer case by case rather than restrict by sector. Practice hasn't followed. Bitcoin Policy UK's submission says there have been no improvements in how banks treat bitcoin activity over the past three years, and the gap between policy and reality is now hard to ignore.
The banks that say no
Some banks don't allow crypto transfers at all. Virgin Money, Metro Bank, Starling Bank, TSB and Chase UK block transfers and card payments outright. Barclays and HSBC take a different route, capping transfers at £2,500 per transaction.
Across the industry, 80% of exchanges said restrictions had increased over the previous year. None reported an improvement.
The numbers behind the problem
Data from a survey published in January 2025 by the Startup Coalition, the UK Cryptoasset Business Council and Global Digital Finance found that half of UK fintech and crypto firms had been refused a bank account or had one closed. Only 14% had opened and kept an account with one of the country's nine largest banks.
An IG Group survey from August 2025 adds to the picture: 40% of active crypto investors said their own bank had blocked or delayed a payment.
Four asks from Bitcoin Policy UK
The submission makes four requests. First, a regulatory statement that bitcoin activity through an FCA-registered exchange shouldn't face blanket restriction. Second, a duty on banks to give specific reasons for a refusal, plus an appeals route. Third, confirmation that FCA registration can serve as a risk basis, as it does in Hong Kong. Fourth, a published periodic measure of restriction levels so progress is actually trackable.
The political backdrop
In December, City Minister Lucy Rigby said that Britain can, “without a doubt,” compete with the United States and become an international hub for cryptoassets. The distance between that ambition and a bank capping a crypto transfer at £2,500 is exactly what the inquiry is meant to bridge.
