UK Banks Crack Down on Crypto: HSBC and Nationwide Join the Ban
Recently, HSBC and Nationwide Building Society in the United Kingdom have prohibited their customers from buying cryptocurrencies, following a warning from the British regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), about the high-risk nature of crypto investments.
HSBC announced that it stopped clients from using their credit cards to purchase cryptocurrencies last month, citing financial risks.
Meanwhile, Nationwide has reportedly emailed its customers that they cannot use their credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies have been linked to money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorism financing, and the security of cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets is also a significant issue.
The cryptocurrency market is characterized by high volatility, which can result in substantial gains or losses for investors. The lack of regulation in the industry is also a concern, as it can lead to scams and illegal activities.
The adoption and use of crypto are still limited, which makes their value subject to speculation rather than actual usage. As a result, many financial institutions view cryptocurrencies differently.
READ MORE: Bitcoin: Hundreds of Millions Liquidated as BTC Corrects
Some see them as a threat to their business, while others are exploring opportunities to leverage them to improve their operations and services.
Despite HSBC’s recent ban on crypto purchases, the bank has applied for trademark rights for various digital currency and metaverse products. Moreover, the bank is now part of the metaverse.
Alexander Stefanov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coinspress and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
