Revolut halts US digital asset services, blames evolving regulations

The U.S. digital asset market is losing yet another player due to a lack of a clear regulatory framework. London-based fintech unicorn Revolut will halt its services for U.S. clients within the month.

Revolut notified its U.S. users that it would cease supporting buy orders for digital assets on September 2. They can, however, sell and withdraw their assets for 30 more days before the entire platform winds down.

Like many other firms exiting or limiting their services in the U.S., the digital bank blamed the country’s regulations or the lack thereof.

“As a result of the evolving regulatory environment and the uncertainties around the crypto market in the U.S., we’ve taken the difficult decision, together with our U.S. banking partner, to suspend access to cryptocurrencies through Revolut in the U.S.,” said the company’s spokesperson in a statement.

Revolut first launched digital asset services in 2017 with an aim to “erase the divide between old and new money.” It has expanded its digital asset reach globally over the years, with its expansion into Brazil in May being its latest. It has also expanded its ‘crypto’ services to include digital asset payments and staking, with yields hitting as high as 11.7%.

However, the U.S. market has proven too tough to crack for the unicorn, valued at $33 billion in its last fundraising round.

In its statement, the company downplayed the effect of the shutdown on its business and assured users beyond the U.S. that the decision won’t affect them.

“This decision has not been taken lightly, and we understand the disappointment this may cause. This suspension does not affect Revolut users outside of the U.S. in any way, and impacts less than 1% of Revolut’s crypto customers globally,” the spokesperson said.

U.S. regulators have become tough on digital asset firms and have sued dozens of exchanges and blockchain projects for breaches of commodities and securities laws. The targets have included Kraken, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), and Binance, all of whom have had to halt some of their services, such as staking, following regulatory action.

London Blockchain Conference 2023: Regulation & education—the keys to blockchain growth