UK Parliament Launches Inquiry into Banking Access Barriers for Crypto Firms
The UK Parliament's Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has launched an inquiry into banking access barriers for crypto and digital asset businesses in the country.
The six-week call for written evidence, which closes on August 31, 2026, is aimed at identifying solutions to the two main issues facing these firms: account access and transaction restrictions.
Research by the UK Cryptoasset Business Council found that UK banks were blocking or delaying an estimated 40% of attempted transfers to crypto exchanges in 2026, with 70% of surveyed exchanges saying banking restrictions affected their investment, expansion, or hiring decisions in the UK.
The inquiry is not a new development, as the same APPG ran a similar inquiry in 2022-23, which warned that banking restrictions could undermine the UK's digital asset ambitions and called for urgent action. This time around, the Government has stated its commitment to developing the sector, with Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby MP saying that licensed crypto firms should not face banking restrictions 'simply because of the sector they belong to.'