Revolut to Close US Crypto Services Due to Uncertain Regulatory Position

From October 3, customers in the US will no longer be able to use Revolut to buy, sell, or hold any cryptocurrencies.

UK-based fintech Revolut has announced it is terminating all crypto services in the United States. Revolut has decided to abandon crypto in the US because of the regulatory uncertainty in the country’s crypto market.

Revolut says the option to place buy orders will no longer be available to US customers from the 2nd of September this year. After a month, on the 3rd of October, all access to hold, sell, or buy any digital asset will no longer be possible. Revolut is likely hoping the period between the announcement and October 3 would be enough for customers to move their assets off the platform.

A Revolut told Decrypt that the decision was a joint one with the platform’s banking partner:

“As a result of the evolving regulatory environment and the uncertainties around the crypto market in the US, we’ve taken the difficult decision, together with our US banking partner, to suspend access to cryptocurrencies through Revolut in the US. This decision has not been taken lightly, and we understand the disappointment this may cause.”

Revolut has officially informed all US customers of the decision.

Revolut Suspends US Crypto Services as Authorities Continue Crackdown

Government authorities have been actively cracking down on crypto firms in the US. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) believes that nearly all cryptocurrencies should be classified as securities and must follow specific rules. Crypto companies disagree and have been at loggerheads with these authorities.

Recently, the SEC indicted major crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase for several alleged malpractices and have been going at both crypto giants for a while now. As part of the Binance indictment, the SEC designated several cryptocurrencies as securities, including Polygon’s MATIC, Cardano’s ADA, and SOL. According to the SEC, Decentraland, Filecoin, Algorand, Sandbox, and Axie Infinity tokens are also securities. In response, Revolut announced it would delist SOL, ADA, and MATIC, and permanently restrict access on September 18. The company said it will automatically convert all tokens held after this date to dollar deposits for the customers. Robinhood Markets also announced it would delist the same three tokens by June 27.

Some Wins for Crypto in the US

Despite the SEC’s continuous crackdown, there might be some respite on the crypto side. For instance, Ripple recently got a partial victory against the SEC for a case initiated in December 2020. US Judge Analisa Torres ruled that while the institutional sale of XRP tokens violated federal securities laws, selling Ripple on exchanges did not meet the requirements of an investment contract. Ripple had maintained that XRP is a security and that all sale of the tokens violates laws.

In addition to Ripple’s victory, lawmakers have criticized the SEC for going after crypto, putting some pause on the Commission’s regulatory powers. According to a recent bill attempting to design a regulatory framework for digital assets, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) should be the primary regulator. Interestingly, the lawmakers also accuse the SEC of using enforcement action on the market instead of ensuring all players have the much-needed clarity.

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Tolu is a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast based in Lagos. He likes to demystify crypto stories to the bare basics so that anyone anywhere can understand without too much background knowledge.
When he’s not neck-deep in crypto stories, Tolu enjoys music, loves to sing and is an avid movie lover.

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