UK Crypto Boom – Over 50% of top UK banks facilitate crypto transactions
Crypto-assets benefit from the lenient stance maintained by the UK government regarding the ownership, use and trading of digital currencies.
Unlike countries such as Algeria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Egypt, Indonesia and Ghana where virtual currency is banned, the UK left the doors open to the highly volatile asset class.
The study results are timely, as the UK is currently working on creating a crypto-regulatory environment with the aim of turning the country into a hotspot for digital assets.
Most importantly, the country has seen an increase in the number of investors entering the market through cryptocurrency exchanges.
Today, businesses dealing in digital tokens must register and secure approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Image: Outlook India
This is mainly to ensure that anti-money laundering regulations are strictly adhered to and followed by companies involved in these types of assets.
Banks in the country also seem to be open to virtual currencies as most of them allow their customers to do business with exchange platforms.
UK Crypto Friendly Lenders
A recently concluded survey by Finder involving 17 major UK banks found that only 47% of participating financial institutions do not have policies that allow their customers to interact with platforms such as crypto exchanges.
To be specific, 7 of the surveyed banks – including Halifax, HSBC, TSB and The Co-operative bank – cited security concerns in prohibiting the use of their credit and debit cards for transfers or purchases made in cryptocurrency exchange platforms.
A larger majority (53%) of these UK financial institutions came out of the other side of the equation, although only four of them could be considered crypto-friendly.
Digital-only banks such as Revolut, Monzo and Starling lead the pack of major lenders that allow customers to make transfers and withdrawals from exchanges apart from Binance which has been banned in the UK.
Crypto adoption in the UK
With this development involving major banks in the country, better levels of bitcoin adoption could be underway for the UK which ranks 22n.d of 26 nations in the special category.
Latest data from Finder reveals that there are 4.1 million Britons who own digital currency, with 33% owning the largest digital currency by market capitalization, Bitcoin.
It is no longer a surprise as Bitcoin, despite struggling to regain higher trading prices, continues to lead the pack in the virtual fiat space.
At press time, according to tracking from CoingeckoBitcoin changes hands at $19,149, paring losses to just 1.4% over the past seven days.
The crypto ownership rate in the UK, which stands at 8%, is significantly lower than the global average of 15%. India leads the race in this area with its share of 29%.
Ethereum, meme crypto Dogecoin and Cardano are among the most popular cryptocurrencies in the country where men dominate women in ownership of the asset class, with 72% and 28% respectively.
Crypto total market cap at $879 billion on the daily chart | Featured image from ETF Stream, Chart: TradingView.com
