Stand With Crypto mobilises 286K members against UK bank…

Stand With Crypto UK, the Coinbase-backed advocacy group, has launched a nationwide campaign calling on its 286,000 members to file formal complaints against British retail banks over blanket restrictions on crypto transactions. The campaign targets both complete blocks — imposed by Chase UK, Starling, TSB, Virgin Money and Metro Bank — and hard transfer caps set by Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and Monzo.

The push is grounded in the UK Cryptoassets Business Council's January 2026 "Locked Out" report, which surveyed ten FCA-registered exchanges and found that British banks block or delay 40% of all domestic crypto transfers. Over the past 12 months, 80% of those exchanges reported a rise in blocked transfers, with one platform losing up to £1 million in rejected transactions in a single year.

Why it matters

The campaign lands at a politically sensitive moment. HM Treasury stated in January 2026 that it does not expect FCA-authorised firms to face transaction restrictions from banking providers, citing the Payment Services Regulations 2017. The government has also publicly committed to making the UK a global digital-assets and Web3 hub — a goal that Coinbase's head of policy for Europe, Katie Harries, says is being undermined: "The banks are choking off the crucial on-ramp from fiat money into crypto."

Advocates argue the restrictions are anti-competitive, noting that many of the same banks imposing retail blocks are quietly building internal digital-asset teams and exploring crypto products of their own.

Market impact

With roughly 8% of UK adults holding cryptoassets, the scale of the access problem is material.