Barclays cuts ties with US-based crypto exchange | UK News

Barclays is no longer providing banking services to major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. This ends a relationship that started in March last year as the exchange expanded in Europe.

The rare deal between the San Francisco-based exchange and the British bank made it easier for Coinbase users to buy cryptocurrencies with pounds and withdraw their funds.

Barclays declined to comment, while Coinbase did not respond to repeated requests for comment. The news was first reported by industry website CoinDesk on Wednesday.

Large global banks have been reluctant to do business with companies that handle bitcoin and other digital coins because of concerns that these cryptocurrencies are being used by criminals to launder money and that regulators will soon crack down on them.

Three-quarters of cryptocurrency businesses in Britain are forced to bank overseas due to the difficulty of getting banking services onshore, a survey by industry body…