Dive Brief:
- Revolut will no longer allow U.S.-based customers to trade cryptocurrency on its platform, the London-based neobank said Friday, citing the evolving regulatory environment and uncertainties in the U.S. digital currency market.
- The wind-down, first reported by Decrypt, will affect roughly 2% of Revolut’s U.S. retail customer base, a company spokesperson told Banking Dive in an email.
- Revolut’s decision to exit the space comes as U.S. regulators have filed lawsuits against several crypto firms in recent months, following a year of high-profile scandals that have rocked the digital-asset sector.
Dive Insight:
“As a result of the evolving regulatory environment and the uncertainties around the crypto market in the US, we’ve taken the difficult decision, together with our US banking partner, to suspend access to cryptocurrencies through Revolut in the US,” a company spokesperson told Banking Dive in an email.
Revolut’s U.S. banking partner is New York City-based Metropolitan Commercial Bank, while its digital-asset services are provided by crypto marketplace Bakkt.
Revolut’s U.S. customers will no longer be able to place buy orders for cryptocurrencies on the neobank’s platform as of Sept. 2, the spokesperson said.
Access to crypto will be fully disabled for Revolut’s U.S. customers on Oct. 3, meaning users will no longer be able to buy, sell or hold any cryptocurrencies, the spokesperson said.
“This decision has not been taken lightly, and we understand the disappointment this may cause. This suspension does not affect Revolut users outside of the US in any way,” the spokesperson said. “Revolut customers in all other markets can continue to sign up and enjoy using our crypto services.”
Revolut stopped offering several tokens in July, after Bakkt decided to delist the cryptocurrencies. Bakkt’s move followed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision in June to label the tokens as unregistered securities in its ongoing litigation against crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance, according to Decrypt.
Revolut’s move will affect approximately 15,000 U.S. customers who have crypto balances, it said. The company counts more than 700,000 U.S. retail customers.
The neobank launched in the U.S. in 2020 and has been trying to secure a U.S. banking license since early 2021.
