United Kingdom banking giant, Barclays is set to start blocking cryptocurrency purchases on its credit cards. In a statement on its official website, the bank said the ban will come into effect from June 27, 2025.
By that, Barclays now joins other International banking firms like JPMorgan, Bank of America, Lloyds, Virgin Money, Chase UK, and Starling to stop inflows to the cryptocurrency sector from their platforms. More so, the latest move by the UK bank underlines the intensifying tension between the traditional finance space and the cryptocurrency market.
While narrating the motive behind the move, Barclays cited worries over the volatility of the crypto market and consumer debt risk. The bank said cardholders may struggle to repay borrowed funds due to the sudden drop in the price of cryptocurrencies.
In the notice, the bank mentioned how a lack of regulatory oversight in the sector fueled the move. Furthermore, the firm decried how cryptocurrency purchases are currently outside the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, much to the disadvantage of investors.
The British bank mentioned that it will review the policy country by country. Meanwhile, indications about the ban first surfaced in February. Paul Wilmore, the managing director of Barclaycard hinted that the bank is considering the option of stopping cryptocurrency purchases on its cards.
How the ban on credit card crypto purchases contradicts the growing involvement of Barclays in the digital asset sector
However, the latest restriction by the British bank contrasts with its recent interactions with the digital assets sector. A recent filing with the United States of America Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that Barclays is a holder of Bitcoin ETFs.
As revealed, the British banks acquired 2,473,064 shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which is worth about $131 million as of December 31, 2024. Recall that in 2023, Barclays participated in a historic institutional trade alongside BlackRock, using JPMorgan’s Onyx tokenized collateral network.
The two firms completed the first real-client derivatives collateral transactions with tokenized MMF shares. Similarly, in 2017, the bank’s Chief Technology Officer revealed plans for private and permissioned blockchain pilots to streamline trade executions.
Considering the growing adoption of digital assets across the globe, the latest move by Barclays will spur serious debate. For the banking giant, reducing customers’ debt exposure is also as important as active participation in the cryptocurrency market.
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