Crypto: Banks Can’t Seem To Service Crypto, Even As It Goes Mainstream

Crypto’s reputation is improving, but investors still complain that their banks are blocking their accounts for interacting with digital assets.

Across the globe, it remains common for crypto users to have their bank accounts frozen and transfers blocked, even as institutional adoption rises.

Panos Mekras, co-founder and CEO of blockchain fintech Anodos Labs, began dealing with crypto in Greece in the late 2010s. Most Greek banks didn’t allow transfers to crypto exchanges back then. Mekras experienced blocked card payments until one bank finally permitted his transfers, but first, he was questioned to ensure he understood he was interacting with a “risky” counterparty.

Mekras told Cointelegraph that those early rejections are symptomatic of how banks treat digital assets as inherently high risk. That label often led to account closures or sudden freezes without explanation, ultimately pushing his business to rely solely on onchain tools and payment rails.

Public perception of crypto has since evolved. Now, crypto is undergoing an image refresh, from a speculative asset class to an infrastructure layer for future financial products. However, Mekras said he still experiences the same banking barriers, as recently as a “few months ago”:

Mekras isn’t the lone crypto holder with such complaints despite banks announcing expansions into custody and blockchain initiatives.

A January report from the UK Cryptoasset Business Council found that bank transfers to exchanges were being blocked or delayed, with roughly 40% of payments encountering restrictions and 80% of exchanges reporting increased friction over the past year.

The council warned that blanket bans and transaction limits are often applied without regard to the legal status of the exchange.

Revolut is one of two banks that permit both bank transfers and debit cards in the UK council’s study, and it is also the platform where Mekras claims to have experienced his recent account freeze. It operates as an authorized UK bank “with restrictions,” meaning it is currently building up its banking processes before full launch. It also holds a European Union banking license through Lithuania and offers crypto trading services in its app.

A Revolut spokesperson told Cointelegraph it treats account freezes as a “last-resort” customer protection measure in compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.

Source: CoinTelegraph