Bitcoin Policy UK has told a parliamentary inquiry that British banks are still imposing blanket restrictions on lawful bitcoin activity, saying the situation has not improved over the past three years.
In a Friday announcement, the group said it had submitted evidence to the Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group’s inquiry into banking access. The submission argues that UK policy still treats crypto as a single category, which leaves bitcoin subject to rules written for unbacked tokens and issuer-dependent stablecoins.
Bitcoin Policy UK said the British government has stated since 2023 that banks should assess firms and activity on a case-by-case basis rather than apply sector-wide restrictions. The group said that approach has not been reflected in practice, and that the gap is getting wider as the UK moves toward full implementation of its cryptoasset regime in 2027.
In a post on X dated Aug. 23, 2026, the group wrote: 「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. Roughly 40% of bank-to-exchange transfers in the UK are currently blocked or delayed.」
The organization said banks should be required to give reasons when they reject bitcoin-related activity.
The evidence was filed with the Crypto and Digital Assets APPG’s inquiry into banking access. Bitcoin Policy UK also pointed to a joint survey published in January 2025 by Startup Coalition, the UK Cryptoasset Business Council and Global Digital Finance. That survey found that half of the UK fintech and crypto firms canvassed had either been refused a bank account or had one closed. Only 14% said they 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 companies with no domestic presence.
According to Bitcoin Policy UK, Virgin Money, Metro Bank, Starling Bank, TSB and Chase UK block transfers and card payments outright. Barclays and HSBC, it said, limit transfers to £2,500, or about $3,400, per transaction.
The group added that 80% of exchanges said restrictions had increased over the previous year, while none reported any improvement.
A separate survey by IG Group from August 2025 found that 40% of active crypto investors had a payment blocked or delayed by their own bank.
Bitcoin Policy UK’s 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 provide specific reasons and an appeals route;
- confirmation that FCA registration can serve as a risk basis, as in Hong Kong; and
- a published periodic measure of restriction levels.
The report also noted that in December, City Minister Lucy Rigby said Britain can "without a doubt" compete with the United States and become an international hub for cryptoassets.
The story was first published by Bitcoin Magazine and written by Mathew Di Salvo.