The digital asset industry body, CryptoUK, is reportedly concerned about the non-availability of banking services to crypto firms of late.
CryptoUK has noted several of the concerns of the digital asset industry, as it wrote a letter to the regulatory authorities of the United Kingdom, noting that several banks had posed restrictions on crypto firms operating in the country. CryptoUK is a trade association of the digital asset industry in the country.
”Many of the major UK banks have now put in place bans or restrictions, and we are concerned that other banks and Payment Services Providers (PSP’s) may also soon follow suit. We now believe that action is warranted because banks are implementing blanket bans instead of taking a risk-based and case-by-case approach”, stated the trade body in its letter, saying that even though their members had been trying to engage with banks constructively for several months, the blanket bans would eventually hinder the UK’s plans of becoming a crypto hub.
While the association acknowledged that users had to be protected from scams in the sector, banning such crypto firms was an act to deny individuals the freedom to invest in an asset class of their choice. Several such crypto firms were following the required regulations to operate in the UK.
The digital asset industry body proposed a ‘white list’ of crypto firms and platforms that had actively engaged with the regulatory authorities to be allowed to avail of banking facilities. CryptoUK ended the letter by announcing their full cooperation and availability for discussions on the matter. The UK has taken several positive steps for the web3 space in the country to flourish, and cutting banking services to such firms may prove costly for the country.