No! 
â â â â â
1 Like
Yep, just read about Barclaysâ full block on crypto. NatWest, it seems, allow crypto card purchases but not bank transfers. TSB say they allow both (subject to the usual automated checks). I wonder about Lloyds? Might ask them (but I donât want to be marked down as a potential money launderer! 
).
You can even watch the transactions in real time. Some values are eye-watering:
All traceable.
2 Likes
But Monero on the other handâŚ
This crypto crackdown is such trash, but it seems our country is very hostile to crypto in general, looking at HMRC tax guidance that is basically not possible to comply with
For TrustTokenâs stablecoin at the very least, youâre able to burn your coins by sending them back to TrustTokenâs address, where this triggers a SWIFT transfer into your account (in GBP, if its TrueGBP) and Crypto.com Iâm already verified with so I should be able to cash out somehow
In theory, yes.
In practice not so. Not all of the exchanges have great AML processes in place, and if you send an email to a crypto exchange with regards to a transaction you have concerns about youâre lucky to get a response at all and when you do âno funds remainâ is all you get.
1 Like
I would assume theyâre ok with it. I have a few friends that play the crypto game and have earned a lot of money in the process. Both use Lloyds, though one did move to Starling recently, which theyâll probably be regretting now!
Itâs my lloydâs-crazed friend who is obsessed with investing in crypto, and she deposits and withdraws large amounts (5 figure sums) through coinbase via Lloyds.
2 Likes
Exchanges are regulated products here, Dan. All major exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase (which probably make up over 95% of volume by UK users not including DEX) are extremely well regulated, with Coinbase specifically providing HMRC with all information they want
Ah ok, good to know! I might have to route my crypto dealings through them then, although since I donât really use the account much day-to-day thatâs probably going to look pretty dodgy, so Iâd better up my everyday usage of the account to avoid any trouble 
Thing is, if banks used common sense, yeah yeah I know thatâs not really happening any time soon.
For anything crypto related they could just ask to see the transactions going in, then cashing out etc. The exchanges provide statements and receipts etc etc.
Wouldnât take much for banks to request this from customers whilst holding the funds in some pending system, they then manually check the information provided and then release or ask for further info.
It looks like a generic bank account icon - like the sort code isnât linked to a known bank.
I was going to post a screenshot but thought twice. @danw 'll be having a field day with this lot 
Previous URL removed to protect the innocent
Tbh Iâm all for scrapping regulation around crypto, AML isnât valid and neither is KYC when the point of crypto is for your wallet to be your identity, not you
Itâs also very hard to provide documents and receipts considering the HMRC guidance on crypto which doesnât count capital gains on fiat / crypto trades but on crypto for crypto exchange, too making @Crypto suggestion pretty much worthless
1 Like
The sort code is linked directly to Coinbase, youâve not discovered some secret way to bypass any bans. One bit of code and any bank can just block deposits to that sortcode.
Youâre not hiding anything from them by calling it something different in the transactions.
4 Likes
Oh, the day when banks start blocking specific sort codes to stop crypto activity is just around the corner - I donât doubt that at all. But at this point in time, itâs possible.
You can see why there is so much friction. The very design of blockchain renders the fundamental existence of one of societyâs institutions - the bank - obsolete.
But while gaining traction and understanding, it isnât ready for prime time yet.
1 Like
Several issues though:
- A lot of the funds criminally moved do so through unscrupulous exchanges, generally based outside of Europe and therefore arenât subject to the same regulation
- Once HMRC/NCA/etc get intelligence from
a bank about specific payments/transactions then the money is gone. The AML interventions just arenât there during the transactions.
Iâm not anti-crypto by the way. I have absolutely no problems with it, and I think lots of banks just arenât aware of the realities of how it works and because of POCA their blanket approach is âbank says noâ.
POCA btw is a terrible piece of legislation, and I donât think there any many financial institutions which wouldnât admit that, at least privately.
3 Likes
It already happens at most UK banks.
3 Likes
Briefly been discussing this with my friends over the last half an hour, and we actually think this might tie in to the Chris Skinner posts, and possibly explain why Starling were given a pass.
So according to one of my friends who both uses Starling as their main account and invests heavily in crypto, this is nothing new from Starling. Theyâve completely blocked his ability to use his starling account for crypto at all since the very beginning.
The speculation on our part here is that itâs because theyâre still a small bank, with a small number of staff and lack the resources to deal with crypto related fraud and crime.
Lloydâs and NatWest appear to be the only two banks that donât care at all from anecdotal experience within our group chat. One of my friendâs opened a NatWest account and withdrew ÂŁ100k from coinbase and NatWest didnât care.
HSBC, Barclays, and Monzo all seem to have a similar stance on this. Comparing experience with claims weâve seen in Reddit regarding account closures, weâve deduced that these banks are likely quite happy to facilitate crypto under the condition that theyâre able to verify the source of your funds. So most people, using their own money, for personal use, with those banks shouldnât run into any issues.
When those banks canât verify the source of the funds and that they belong to you, it can appear dodgy, and itâs in those cases where they freeze or close accounts. The recourse here apparently is that you just have to prove where the money came from and that it belongs to you. KYC and AML processes during the on boarding will likely tie into how they determine if something seems dodgy too.
This is all theory derived from anecdotal experiences from our group chat and comparing those with a few cases on r/monzo and other subreddits, and how that ties into the theories raised by Chris Skinner too.
The short of it is, perhaps the reason Starling isnât seeing quite so many issues as the others is because they outright block crypto from the outset, and then perhaps activate the privilege on a case by case basis, as it does appear some users can use Starling to buy crypto.
Edit: sorry @JoeT didnt mean for this to be a direct reply to you!
3 Likes
Itâs fine you make sense. It tied in to my original post before when I said they are doing it to protect themselves as a small bank
I said:
1 Like
Itâs demographics again.
Starling customers are less likely to bother with crypto. Starling have said that themselves.
Do you have a source for that?
I donât think demographics much matters anyway since theyâre blocking access to Crypto. So even if their customer base wanted to, they wouldnât be able to with Starling.
1 Like