UK digital bank Revolut has announced it is halting crypto services for U.S. customers. The financial services company said it took the “difficult decision” due to the “evolving regulatory environment” and “uncertainties around the crypto market” in the U.S.
Revolut launched eight years ago, and commenced operations in the U.S. just three years ago. Its range of services include money transfer, salary advance, virtual cards, and crypto trading and investing.
However, the crypto industry has come under immense pressure as the securities and exchange commission (SEC) accused the industry of trading unregistered securities. Because of this recent crackdown, many crypto startups have exited the U.S..
Top crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance were the first to come under the SEC’s scrutiny and are currently in court over allegations of trading in unregistered securities. Though Revolut hasn’t come directly under attack, the company is withdrawing crypto services in the country in collaboration with its local banking partner as a precaution.
The SEC recently labeled Solana’s SOL, Cardano’s ADA and Polygon’s MATIC as securities, a move that forced many top exchanges to delist the assets. According to a spokesperson for Revolut,
“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 U.S. in any way, and impacts less than 1% of Revolut’s crypto customers globally. Revolut customers in all other markets can continue to sign up and enjoy using our crypto services,”
Revolut not giving up
Revolut has 25 million customers worldwide, most of them being in Europe. Even though the U.S. customer base isn’t more than one percent of the global customer base, it is a significant contribution to the company’s revenue.
A spokesperson for the bank told Decrypt that the company is still exploring alternative ways to offer crypto services to U.S. customers.
“Revolut is actively pursuing alternative means of providing access to crypto products and we hope to offer crypto in the U.S. again in the future,” the spokesperson said.
In the meantime, U.S. customers can still enjoy non-crypto services that the platform offers. The suspension also does not affect Revolut users in any other locations, and U.S customers have until September 2 to buy digital assets, and until 30 October to sell all their assets as the complete withdrawal will happen after then.
Poor regulation killing U.S. crypto industry
Revolut is just one of many crypto companies that have withdrawn their services in the U.S., citing regulatory uncertainty. Many have done so, including U.S. crypto exchanges like Bittrex which is still in court for allegedly violating security laws.
Coinbase, one of the indigenous U.S. exchanges has filed for a dismissal of the SEC case against it, citing the Ripple case in which it was ruled that XRP isn’t a security. The exchange’s CEO Brian Armstrong had earlier this year said the company is open to relocating outside the U.S. if the regulatory climate continues to be hostile.
Binance has also considered focusing on the Middle East, where regulation favors the crypto industry. The exchange recently obtained an MVP proprietary license in Dubai, one of the leading crypto hubs in the world.
