British bank Barclays has stopped serving the Bitcoin exchange Coinbase

British bank Barclays has stopped serving the Bitcoin exchange Coinbase

London-based international bank Barclays has stopped servicing accounts of the largest US cryptocurrency company Coinbase for unknown reasons, CoinDesk reports citing informed sources.

According to the publication, as a result of a breakdown in relations with the bank, Coinbase lost access to the Quick Payment System (FPS), because of which users can not immediately deposit/withdraw British pounds and have to wait up to several days. The fact that the FPS option is temporarily unavailable to customers from the UK, it became known on July 24.

Sources say Coinbase has already entered into a partnership with ClearBank, thanks to which access to FPS should be restored by the end of the third quarter.

So, recently there have been rumors that Barclays have changed their policies regarding the cryptocurrency industry due to high risks, but the bank has never officially confirmed that it refuses to serve bitcoin companies.

Some sources also claim that Coinbase and Barclays collaborated on a time-limited pilot program. At the same time, as part of this partnership, the exchange could postpone listing of new assets.

Note that the upcoming delisting of ZCash for residents of the UK, most likely, was a requirement of ClearBank.

It is known that in the past Barclays served Circle and the Bitchain wallet provider Blockchain, but the current status of their relationship is unknown.

Recall that last year Barclays blocked the accounts of CEO 50Cycles for the production of electric bikes with the cryptocurrency mining function of Scott Snate due to the exchange of bitcoin for fiat currency on the popular LocalBitcoins site.

The media also reported on the bank’s plans to launch a service for trading cryptocurrencies, but the pilot project was closed in October 2018 by decision of the management.

Earlier, the Office of Financial Regulation and Supervision of the United Kingdom (FCA) published the final version of the guide to cryptocurrency assets, indicating which of them fall under its jurisdiction.

UK Cryptocurrency Asset Guide Released

In the meantime, the UK Internal Revenue Service has demanded that Coinbase provide the personal data of users who are residents of the country.

British bank Barclays has stopped serving the Bitcoin exchange Coinbase